Ethics article review and key concepts

¶ … Lemons into Lemonade: How the United States Turned an Ugly Accounting Scandal into a Mighty Lever for Global Financial Oversight and Regulation

Klaus C. Engelen's 2004 article entitled "Lemons into Lemonade: How the United States Turned an Ugly Accounting Scandal into a Mighty Lever for Global Financial Oversight and Regulation" explores the concept that the United States took the tightening of ethics regulation which occurred in the U.S. And abroad after such scandals as the events surrounding Enron. This tightening of rules and regulations stands for financial business within the United States, along with other nations all over the globe. Engelen's article explores specific examples of such tightening up in the United States, as well as Germany and other nations within the European Union. He also talks about how the United States was able to turn around a very negative situation, a series of corporate bankruptcies and public scandals, into a way to ensure such events would not happen again at home and abroad.

This is an example of a practical application of policy upholding ethical regulations as discussed in Albrecht's work Accounting Concepts and Applications. Rather than to dwell on the lack of ethics which got the many of the United States major corporations in such a bad situation in the first place, other key figures stepped up to save face of the American business and financial ethic. After several major institutions were exposed for their lack of ethics, the larger U.S. market made an extra effort to show the world the changes in ethics which would now govern financial business and affairs within U.S. borders and with it's international dealings as well.

This article applies to many different aspects of business organizations. It shows that the unethical dealings of the past will no longer be tolerated in international and domestic business dealings. It also sets a higher standard for all businesses to uphold, knowing that restrictions and regulations have gone up to do others past mistakes and greed. This article also explains how government entities will now take more of an effort to enforce those regulations to ensure that such financial digressions and illegal dealings will not take over with the zealousness which they had in the early portion of the twenty-first century. Every business, both domestic and foreign, will now have to endure stricter auditing regulations and answer fully to any misgivings to the government.

Therefore, businesses everywhere should take heed and follow the exact letter of the law. After such blatant disregard of the rules led to enormous scandals, the government is not taking anything lightly. Every business and financial institution will be held accountable for their actions, and therefore each institution's code of ethics will definitely come in handy in order to save that business from any investigation or prosecution for any misconduct.