Addressing ethical matters in Ukrainian accounting practice

Abstract

Nowadays professional ethics is rapidly gaining its importance all over the world in general and in accounting ethics, in particular. Financial scandals have shifted the focus from the technical competence of accounting professionals to their ethical behavior. Recent developments and changes have made the code of ethics a vital tool to maintain the reputation of the accounting profession, however, little is known about the recent developments in this field in the transition economy of Ukraine. The aim of the research is to reveal the opinions on professional accounting ethics among Ukrainian professionals and to identify the adherence to ethical behavior and prevalence of ethical issues in accounting practices in Ukraine. The authors conducted a survey in the form of questionnaire among the target audience of professional accountants in both private and public organizations. The results have shown that while the general opinion of the respondents on the present level of accounting ethics in Ukraine is low, they are well aware of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, its main principles and their importance. The study also indicated that professional ethics should be included into the HEIs curriculum and definitely deserves more attention from the public side.