Scott is an accountant at Tropicana Bhd., a manufacturer of electronic appliances in Kota Warisan. The company presently has total sales of $35 million. It is the end of the first quarter 2018. Scott is hurriedly trying to prepare a general ledger trial balance so that quarterly financial statements can be prepared and released to management and the regulatory agencies. The total credits on the trial balance exceed the debits by $1,500. In order to meet the deadline, Scott decides to force the debits and credits into balance by adding the amount of the difference to the Equipment account. He chose Equipment because it is one of the larger account balance; percentage-wise, it will be least misstated. Scott “plugs” the difference! He believes that the difference will not affect anyone’s decision. He wishes that he had another few days to find the error but realizes that the financial statements are already late.

a. Identify three stakeholders in this situation? Explain the importance of these stakeholders in the above situation.

b. Critically discuss the ethical issues involved in this case?

c. What are Scott’s alternatives? Explain all the three alternatives.