Rakes, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of yard equipment in the Midwest which includes these four outstanding employees, among many other employees. Ingrid works in internal audit, Fred works in financial reporting, Tina works in the tax department, and Andrews the Assistant Controller. Each of these employees has taken and passed the CMA exam. However, recently they have experienced some difficulties at work. Fred works in financial reporting and has been on a team to prepare reports for budget and forecast sales data in the upcoming year. He was informed about a new product that will bring a significant increase in sales and earnings for the company. 

During lunch with some friends, they were asking for sound investment information because they wanted to add anything that was a “sure bet” to their portfolio. You unintentionally let this slip out and afterward wondered about the implications that may occur. Andrew is the Assistant Controller and has been working on a special project for year-end and discovered an unusual transaction that was not properly disclosed. A high write-off of spare parts had been postponed to the subsequent year so that this year’s earnings report falls within the expectation of the board of directors. He is not really sure about the disclosure rules so he decided to ignore it because nobody will know if they do not have access to the detailed information. After all, he only discovered it because of this special project. 

Tina was recently promoted into the tax department because she had shown initiative in her previous position. The hiring committee believed she was the right person for this position and that she could learn as she applies herself. Tina feels that having only one corporate tax class during college probably was not enough, and she is really stressed by the high level of skill needed, as well as deadlines and responsibility. They began piling the work on immediately. 

She knows they believe in her ability, and this is causing more stress. She does not know how to address this issue. Ingrid has recently noticed some lapses in internal control through her audit process. It seems the policy for reimbursement of expenses as outlined in the company procedure manual has been overlooked and expense reimbursement checks are going to employees without the proper receipts to back up the amounts. Looking further into it, you see several checks made out to the accounts payable clerk and they are unusually large and even sums of money. On Monday morning you decided to have a conversation with the accounts payable clerk, but before you could bring up the policy questions you have, she excitedly shares stories with you about her big winnings this past weekend at the local casino. You need to decide what to do.

What ethical issues does each scenario encounter ?