The consideration of managerial ethics in a financial context can hold different meanings depending upon the relevant scenario. Two such examples are as follows:
Financial reporting behaviors, such as those addressed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Verschoor, 2005b), and
Socially responsible behavior by corporations wherein ethical value judgments are applied to the type of business a company conducts (Shank, Manullang, & Hill, 2005) or the way in which a company conducts its business (Farman & van der Wejst, 2005) - as examples, cigarette manufacturers may be condemned as unethical by some people because pursue private gain through the marketing of products that exacerbate human health risks, and forest products companies that practice clear-cut logging may be condemned in an ethical context because they place private gain ahead of ecological degradation
Financial reporting behaviors are the central focus of managerial ethics in a financial context today. The various corporate accounting scandals that have come to public notice over the past five years, together with the continuing judicial proceedings involving these same scandals act to maintain the public focus of managerial ethics on financial reporting behaviors to the virtual exclusion of other ethical issues in business. Farman and van der Wijst (2005) noted that lower profits may be associated with doing business in a socially responsible way. Within the context of financial reporting behavior, many corporations in the United States, with the United States Chamber of Commerce as their flag bearer, contend that the cost of ethical behavior in financial reporting is too high. Thus, they proposed that the provisions and the enforcement of Sarbanes-Oxley be weakened. This stance is an indicator that the depth of corporate commitment to ethical behavior in financial reporting in the United States is rather shallow.
Verschoor (2005b) noted that it is vitally im...