ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the study of accounting ethics within its broader political and economic context and has two objectives. First, it provides a broad overview of some of the main ways scholars and practitioners have thought ethically about accounting. Second, the chapter focuses on how the ethics of accounting may develop in the future. It provides a broad introduction to accounting ethics and provides the context for the specific focus on the public interest claims of the accounting profession. The chapter outlines the development of the business and human rights agenda and explains some of the current ways human rights obligations are being connected to accounting practice. The discourse of human rights is emerging as the most credible framework for understanding the social responsibility of business. The discourse of human rights provides one of the most comprehensive and widely accepted discussions on what the public might be interested in.
