Sue's Dilemma at the CPA Firm
When Sue eventually lands a position at a CPA business, she becomes enthusiastic about it. But during her first few days at work, her job takes a new turn. She encounters a client who has made inflated payments. Sue is aware that some of her clients have been avoiding paying their taxes. Her gut feelings don't support this. She is aware that what she is doing is wrong and unethical. She quickly realizes that this was not in accordance with the professional training she had received from her employer, which placed an emphasis on ethical duty in her field. She wants to get rid of the vise, but her efforts to do so have only led to a string of failures.
Synopsis of the Case
The CPA firm displays a shocking character of unethical practices in the management for a long time. It comes out as a culture in the organization. When Sue learns of the wrong act practiced in the society, she takes a bold step-seeking help from her partner in charge, with great hopes that the partner will advise accordingly. But this effort was all in vain. The partner in charge of audit gave the response that did not satisfy her. Paul, the consulted partner, confirmed that the practice was wrong, but he admits that it is the way of conducting business in the industry. Because other firms in the industry did the same, if they stopped they would lose their market share. Sue finds this lame and goes further to approach Mike and Bill, the ex-workers of the firm. The story was no exception. She notices that an attempt to address the act would possibly cost her the job. Sue finally becomes the team player.
Relevant Factual Information about the Problem or Decision the Organization Faced
The CPA organization has an option of either maintain the ethical practices of the business and keep the required standards of operation, which then brings the question of whether the other firms in the industry will follow suit, or to continue engaging in the unethical practices. Should they go with Sue’s current option, they risk losing some customers in the short run but promote the reputation of the firm or run away from the reality.
Explanation of Relevant Concepts, Theories, and Applications Derived from Course Materials
The reputation of lack of ethics and standards of operations has put the CPA firm and other companies in the industry in an entirely hard place to meet their market demand. This has put them in a position of breaking the rules and failure to adhere to the set regulations configured to govern the industry. This has affected the business for many years, and if not well addressed in time, it might affect sales in more years to come. Sue, just as other employees of the organization, know the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the whole system is rotten. The players in the industry made a huge mistake of not paying attention to the vise as it started in the market by allowing clients to evade tax payments and exaggerating payments, unnoted in the audit.
Situation Alarm
The situation alarm that some issues need to be examined. The monitoring of the conduct of business should be put in check. This should be done consistently to avoid development of the culture in the future. Such issues can pose a great challenge in businesses by spoiling the reputation of firms. Also, the employer-employee relations should be free and constructive (Kasahara, 2015). There is a need for top managers to listen to juniors and involve them in decision making.
Recommendations
Firms that find themselves in such a position that the CPA firm finds itself in our case should not restrict their problems to financial success and competitive edge. Rather, they should view it from the reputation angle. While evading taxes and lying about numbers and using orthodox means to make profits, it would probably benefit them in the short run (Elton, 2016). But when the public and the regulation bodies establish the act and are prosecuted, their public reputation will be tarnished causing them to lose customers, reducing their customer base hence loses. The reputation of business always stands out from other qualities such as financial success and market share of companies (Elton, 2016).
Alternative Recommendations
The most amicable way to solve such a problem is not to end up in it in the first place. Leaders need to learn to stand for the right choice and make a firm stand (Wang, 2016). The Strong technical marketing team is becoming essential for businesses to remain competitive in a faster-moving market while maintaining professionalism. A vibrant marketing team can help attract more customers than the use of orthodox means like evading tax (Wang, 2016).
Conclusion
The CPA firm as a whole finds itself in a trap due to a failure to pay attention to the market ethics and standards. This mistake will end up costing them financially and potentially end up in losing their market share and consequently the market share. However, they should not risk damaging the company reputation to try to do things like other firms do. The marketing department should stay on top of the game in response to market changes.
References
Elton, J., & O’Riordan, A. (2016). Healthcare disrupted: Next generation business models and strategies.
In Wang, Y., & In Hefley, W. E. (2016). The global impact of unconventional shale gas development: Economics, policy, and interdependence.
Kasahara, E. (2015). Practical strategic management: How to apply strategic thinking in business.
