Advancing the Ethical Tax Profession

The ethical environment in which tax professionals operate is multifaceted. In the recent past there has been an ethical crisis within the tax profession, as excessive cases of ethical failures have weakened the tax... [ view full abstract ]

The ethical environment in which tax professionals operate is multifaceted. In the recent past there has been an ethical crisis within the tax profession, as excessive cases of ethical failures have weakened the tax profession in the eyes of the public. These ethical dilemmas arise from the stress inherent between assisting the client and upholding the public interest.

Tax professionals should accept the obligation to act in a way that will serve the public interest and exhibit a responsibility to the profession. Our voluntary compliance-based system functions on the public’s perception that all tax professionals have their ethical obligations at the forefront of their professional attention. Compliance to essential ethical principles may potentially be affected by self-interest, self-review, advocacy, familiarity and intimidation threats. In resolving those conflicts, a tax professional should comply with five ethical principles: Integrity, Objectivity, Competence, Confidentiality, and Professional Behavior.

Collaboration between academia and the tax profession has been slowly advancing over the past several years. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has encouraged that accounting education embrace ethics in its curricula. Tax ethics research remains a challenging arena to produce practice driven benefits to the tax profession.

This paper will present assertions to enhance ethical initiatives for the tax profession to assist in restoring public confidence and the advancement of ethical tax professionals.