Ethics in the ecuadorian public accountant training Curriculum

Abstract

The incorporation of ethics as a transversal axis in the training curriculum of public accountants constitutes a key element to foster a reflective and behavioral attitude that promotes the exercise of human values, respect for the principles of the profession and compliance with legal provisions. For the study development, a quantitative approach, a descriptive research level and documentary design were used. The research work starts from the identification of the universities that offer the accounting
and auditing career, to extract the curricula of each institution and finally analyze the inclusion of subjects related to ethics, the accountant quality, professional deontology, values, social and business responsibility, among other disciplines that contribute to the formation of the general ethical postulates of the accounting profession. A total of 60 universities were analyzed; 34 were public, 18 were private and 8 were co-financed; from this conglomerate of institutions, 16 were discriminated against because they did not fit the purposes of the study. The practice of accounting requires a solid and interdisciplinary
professional training, complemented by the teaching of ethics, in order to achieve a comprehensive training that allows the professional to face and respond to the dilemmas and challenges of today’s world. The study concludes by identifying that 66% (high level) of the students of the universities of Ecuador have an ethical-professional training, by incorporating in the curriculum at least one subject related to ethics.