The Work of Accountants in the Time of Economic Crisis

Abstract

The global economic and financial crisis brought up to the surface many years’ concealed fraud and ethically questionable actions on the one hand and, on the other hand, some enterprises were pushed to the edge in a desire to survive, which also led to ethically and legally unacceptable actions. Many of these situations also involved accountants. Despite the fact that today an accountant is one of the most exposed professions, the field of accounting services is relatively poorly regulated in Slovenia. Therefore, today there are no conditions for providing accounting services or conditions for minimum qualifications. The regulations in this field are necessary, since incorrect information, which is the responsibility of an accountant, can lead to bad strategic decisions on the one hand and, on the other hand, the accountant can be under pressure caused by the management. The accountant may be forced to create misleading financial information. The growing public concern due to the use of legal but ethically controversial accounting methods is therefore understandable and justified.