MORAL STANDARDS IN FINANCIAL REPORTING: A BIBLICAL TEXTUAL SUASION
Abstract
This study examines the significance of moral standards in financial reporting, in the integration of the professional and Bible texts. Moral standards set the stage for professional accountants in ensuring transparency, accountability, credibility and reliability of financial reporting. However, due to the cases of fraud and immoral practices, the reliability and credibility of the financial reports have reduced. This has given rise to the questioning of the authenticity of the accounting profession. The methodology of the study was of a qualitative design. The sources of textual data were elicited from the Bible (primary) and accounting literature (secondary). The study found that moral standards in the accounting profession provided objective structure that constrained accountants to produce reliable financial reports. Further, the concept of moral standards and their values such as love, honesty, stewardship and so on correlate with professional principles, practice, and reporting in accounting. This study concluded that integrating moral standards with professional accounting and reporting, improved and standardized the financial reports.
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