Please read the following Case and then formulate your response to the situation from a Business Eth
Please read the following Case and then formulate your response to the situation from a Business Ethics perspective. Case Situation Peter recently joined a small local company specialising in the sale of marine equipment as its Finance Manager. While his primary role was to oversee the Finance team (comprising Peter himself and two Accounts Assistants), his Managing Director had recently hinted that he should assume a secondary, albeit more covert, role – to falsify the accounts of the company to cover up the payment of kickbacks to the representatives of the company's customers. As Peter voiced his misgivings over the proposed arrangements, the Managing Director dismissed his concerns, “Come on Peter, don't act like a frightened little boy. We have always been doing this. This is common practice in the industry – you scratch my back and I scratch yours. And most importantly, I hired you because I know you are smart enough to do a thorough job. It's OK. Don't worry too much.” One day, seeing that Peter was still struggling internally, the Managing Director's face darkened and his voice gradually took on a sterner tone, “Everyone working here knows that there is only my way – or the highway. You can either carry out the task that I have assigned you, or you can start looking around for your next job in the papers. I will give you two days to think through what I have just said.” Peter faced two tough choices: 1) 2) Should he follow his Managing Director's orders and proceed to falsify the accounts; or Should he refuse the Managing Director's orders and immediately find himself out of job? Please ensure that your answers are grounded in Ethics theories particularly the accounting professional code.