Please reply of at least 200 words to the discussion below.

Support your assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in APA format.any sources cited must have been published within the last five years.

Case 4.8: Did the CPA Violate any Rules of Conduct?

Mark had his own practice as a CPA and clients such as Pure Water company and Fitzgerald flooring. His clients had so much trust in him, to the extent they were giving him blank checks to pay their taxes to IRS. After a few years, it became known that even though Mark was receiving payments for his services he had not filed his clients’ taxes for more than five years, and Mark’s license was suspended. (Mintz & Morries, 2020)

The question asks to evaluate Mark’s conduct using the Six Pillars of Character and to say if Mark violated any rules in the AICPA Code of professional conduct. The question also asks if Mark should be permanently banned from practicing in the state.

The six pillars of character are respect, trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. (Character Counts, 2022) I believe that Mark violated all the six pillars described above. First, Mark did not respect the rules and his clients and also lost his trustworthiness by not following what his clients trusted him to do. He acted irresponsibly and without care by not filing and paying the taxes of his clients and creating a problem with the IRS for them. He didn’t act fairly by disobeying the rules and taking advantage of others and lastly, he did not behave as a good citizen would do.

Per the AICPA Code of professional conduct, a member should act with integrity, objectivity, and due care to protect the public interest. (AICPA, 2014) Mark did not do any of the above, thus he violated many of the rules and codes of professional conduct of the accounting profession.

I believe that Mark should be permanently banned from practicing in the state because he was violating the rules for many years on purpose and there is no excuse for that. Proverbs 28:6 says: “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” (The Holy Bible) God teaches us that we should act with integrity and not take advantage of others to benefit financially or in any other way.

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