Mr Black was allocated a large expense account in his role as a senior executive of Choice Pty Ltd. He kept a record of expenses and submitted them monthly for processing. His expenses were approved and the money transferred into his bank account. However, in reality, some of the expenses were personal expenses. You are the Accountant at Choice Pty Ltd and whilst making a coffee you overheard Mr Black and a senior colleague discussing their expense accounts. You overheard Mr Black state that some of his expenses were not legitimate business expenses.

(adapted from Dellaportas 2012)

Required

a)What is the underlying ethical issue?

b)What parties (stakeholders) may be harmed?

c)Which specific interests are in conflict? Name two.

d)Describe two courses of action that you could have taken and the consequences of each option.