ethics case study- intermediate accounting

ACC 323 – Fall 2021 
Ethics Assignment 
Lucas is a recent graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. He recently received his Bachelor of 
Science in Business Administration, emphasis in Accounting. Lucas was excited to begin his career as a 
Staff Accountant with McLemore Consulting. Lucas has been applying many of the skills learned during 
his undergraduate experience in the new role. In addition to his routine job responsibilities, he assists the 
Controller with the month-end and year-end closing processes. 
For the last five years, McLemore Consulting has received unqualified audit opinions from the external 
auditors, Bennett CPA. Management of McLemore Consulting is preparing to expand the business, 
specifically through a new building project. Once McLemore Consulting receives the annual audited 
financial statements, they intend to share them with the local financial institution in hopes of securing their 
new loan for the upcoming building project. Management believes the only way to secure the best interest 
rate is through consecutive years of net operating income on the Income Statement. 
As Lucas and his controller are preparing the financial statements for the external audit, they notice that 
the company is projected to be in a net loss position for the year. The Controller has asked Lucas to 
prepare one final adjusting journal entry prior to since the external auditor will begin fieldwork tomorrow. 
The Controller asks that the following entry be posted into the general ledger. 
The McLemore Consulting’s accounting policies indicate that all general journal entries and adjusting 
journal entries require appropriate supporting documentation. Lucas asks the Controller if there is 
documentation for the entry he has been asked to record. The Controller tells Lucas that he will gather 
the documentation, but it’s important that the entry get posted timely. The documentation can be attached 
to the adjusting journal entry later. Lucas realizes this entry will change the income statement from a 
negative to a positive net income position. 
Do you perceive an ethical dilemma? What are the potential effects of Lucas’ recording the Controller’s 
directions? Who are the stakeholders involved? Who would potentially benefit from this entry? Who would 
potentially be harmed from this entry? What are the consequences of recording this entry? 
Your response 
Answer the questions raised above by submitting a response in Canvas. Student responses should be 
two to three pages in length (no less than 500 words) and double spaced. Responses should use proper 
grammar and spelling as well as paragraphs and complete sentence structure. Responses should be 
prepared in 11 or 12 pitch using a standard, common font (Arial, Times New Roman, etc.) 
This work is your own! You should not consult with your classmates in completing this exercise. 
Responses should be submitted in Canvas – not emailed. Late submissions of your response will not be 
accepted.