CASE STUDY 1:THE CONFUSED ACCOUNTANT

Yvonne Pillar is a young accountant who came from a poor family. She was recently
hired by a big company called Chameleon Co.

When it was time to audit the accounting books of the company, Yvonne was instructed
by her boss to manipulate the numbers in order to reduce the taxes the company will have to
pay the government. The company official said that if she would not heed the command, she
would be terminated.

The employment condition that time was really tight and the chance finding another job
is very minimal.

Case Discussion Questions

1. If you were Yvonne Pillar, will you obey your boss? Why or why not?

Like Yvonne, I come from a family that made ends meet and I’ve been doing my
best since I was a little girl to make my parents proud and be an example to my little
sister.
If I were Yvonne, I will stand by the fact that I was raised well and that I got the position
in that company because I was true to myself and my abilities.
Manipulating the numbers for tax reduction, as instructed by my boss, is certainly not
part of my job description and will not be something that I would do just so I can keep my
position. Doing that illegal thing will make me lose all my credibility, my visions for my
own self and may scar me for life.
In order for me to live my life the way I am living it, I would rather find another job
than staying in a corrupt company. I will decline this instruction by my boss and if I will
be terminated from the job, I will gladly hand in my resignation letter with a message that
I will sincerely address to my boss.
I believe that someone like me, who perseveres in life and has been through a
lot, will find an honorable job, even if it means working in places offering small salaries
as long as I am living an honest life.
2. Are you morally obligated to follow an order that is illegal?

Humans are morally obligated to do what’s right and good and illegal is,
definitely, the exact opposite of the two things mentioned.
Moral obligation, from what I’ve found in a Law dictionary, is “a duty which one owes,
and which he ought to perform, but which he is not legally bound to fulfill”. And with that
being mentioned, it is clear to me; hopefully, to you too; that we are obliged to follow only
the right and good orders nothing more, nothing less.
In the provided case study, Yvonne was ordered to manipulate company
numbers for the company to have reduced tax payments. Yvonne is morally obligated to
decline since she owes it to herself, the company and its employees, the government as
well as the society itself. As a Certified Public Accountant, Yvonne must abide to the
laws especially the ones involving taxes. Thus, she is morally obliged to decline.
 As for myself, I know I am not morally obligated to follow an illegal order…only the legal
ones which portray honesty and integrity. With this, I can be proud of myself and my
family will be proud too. The two virtues may not be followed by a lot today but I am
determined to follow them.
Also as an aspiring accountant, I want to keep in mind that I must be honest and
have integrity to pursue my goals and become a better version of myself as well as to
live a life with nothing but good memories.

3. Explain the moral implications of the military slogan: “Obey first before you complain.”

Honestly, I am quite puzzled by this slogan ever since I heard about it and got really
confused when I learned about some cruelty and injustice in the military but I came to realize
that this slogan solely was created for discipline; as complaining was, obviously, associated with
laziness.

With discipline, all else will follow such as respect and love for oneself and country. For
some people in the military and those who trained, this slogan may have been the worst for
them but maybe, in my opinion, that’s on the part of the seniors or trainers. As far as I know and
what I have experienced when we had our Citizenship Advancement Training (CAT) Community
Service Program back when I was in grade School, we had to practice and master the
formations, the walks as well as other things done during ROTC with this also applying the
slogan mentioned above. I understood the slogan during this part of my journey and I’m
thankful to our teacher back then because he wasn’t obliged to teach the formations and walks
as well as what the ROTC does during their sessions but he did so we can learn and practice
discipline.

From what I’ve read, the phrase moral implication is more useful in referring to results or
significance of an action with respect to morality. And I believe this slogan caries serious moral
implications. More often than not, military men are ordered to obey every command before
complaining and that’s a great sign of discipline and respect; however, the implications vary in
each situation. I actually read an article on The Four Stages of Moral Development in Military
Leaders and it mentioned how moral development is the hardest to develop in leaders and that
there are four stages to help it develop with compliance as the first stage, moral understanding
as the second, moral maturity and then moral ambition. With this, I recall the given slogan. This
slogan is an example of a military principle which, for me, clearly supports the stages of moral
development not only in military leaders but also for all people.

This slogan is much, much, much deeper than we ever imagined and it’s really up to us to
provide a positive moral implication to this, not the opposite. The world does not need more
negativity from us thus, "Obey first before you complain."
 CASE ANALYSIS OUTLINE

1. VIEWPOINT

The Case Study define, in any moment of decision, the best thing you can
do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.

2. TIME CONTEXT
Generally, it delineates the take-off point of the analysis.
I. PROBLEM STATEMENT

 The Study aimed to determine the obligation of Yvonne Pillar in the

company and itself.
 Determine what are the chance that Yvonne Pillar after obeying his boss.
 Does the company still operate if they are not manipulating their
employees?

II. STATEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVE

The study determined the questions specifically:

 To assess the obligation of Yvonne Pillar as an employee of Chameleon Co.
 To know if Yvonne Pillar will obey his boss in manipulate the numbers in
order to reduce the taxes the company


III. AREAS OF CONSIDERATION (SWOT)

Strength

The strength define in this study is Yvonne Pillar is a young accountant

who came from a poor family and she was recently hired by a big company
named Chameleon Co.

Weakness

In the provide case study the weakness is the company manipulating the
employee to make a decision not appropriate for the seek of the company.

Opportunities
 “Obey first before you complain." We want to keep in mind that we must
be honest and have integrity to pursue our goals and become a better version of
ourself as well as to live a life with nothing but good memories.

Threat

Pwede maging threat dito is ano pwede gawin ng Chameleon Co. kay Yvonne
pwede good or bad

IV. ASSUMPTIONS

Dito namn dapat di hinhesitate ng company na ang mga employee ng

illegal na pwede maka apekto individual sa tao or sa company
Defines other factors affecting the company, which may not have been
specifically stated in the case but need to be assumed to better understand the
case and limit or enhance the analysis.
V. ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION

These are the possible solutions to the problem. Each must achieve the
objectives.
VI. ANALYSIS
Each discussed in the light of the Areas of Consideration and
Assumptions. The expected output of discussion should be the Strength and
Weakness (Internal Environment) and Opportunities and Threats (External
Environment) for each ACA. Advantages and Disadvantages of each ACA
should be identified by way of considering the SWOT.
VII. CONCLUSION

As for myself, I know I am not morally obligated to follow an illegal order…

only the legal ones which portray honesty and integrity. With this, I can be proud
of myself and my family will be proud too. The two virtues may not be followed by
a lot today but I am determined to follow them.

VIII. PLAN OF ACTION

This plan delineates the series of action to be undertaken to
operationalize the adopted ACA. The plan implements the ACA. It would be best
to program the plan according to the basic functional areas.
IX. RECOMMENDATIONS