Integrity

In previous employment, I was asked to write a “How To” with tips and tricks for working with me. One item I always came back to was the importance of acting with integrity. We can go with a common definition of integrity “doing the right thing when no one is looking”, but I always value the definition of integrity from the AICPA Professional Code of Conduct. (I’ve included my favorite sections at the bottom.) Key pieces of how I work include:

Being honest and candid. It’s easy to tell the truth - and leave out the parts where you may not agree. Making sure to be candid in your conversations and work and being as straightforward as possible is key. 

Inadvertent Error and Honest Difference of Opinion. Working in tax law, this one is so important to me. We work in an area where not everything is clear cut - and we will reach different opinions, and sometimes those opinions may be wrong. Being able to work with integrity in these situations - listen to others, admit our own shortcomings, and work to do better. 

Have I retained my integrity? This is a question to think about each and every day. My daughter is in the “Integrity House” at her elementary school, so we talk about integrity often. At the end of each day, can I look back and feel good about the conversations and work I did? Did I say everything I should - is there something to take back, or something still unsaid? Did I cover everything I said I would accomplish?

Integrity is key in everything that I do - and is one of the guiding principles of Osprey Tax. We will work together to find the best possible solutions for your indirect tax compliance needs.

AICPA Code References:

0.300.040.02 Integrity is an element of character fundamental to professional recognition. It is the quality from which the public trust derives and the benchmark against which a member must ultimately test all decisions. 

0.300.040.03 Integrity requires a member to be, among other things, honest and candid within the constraints of client confidentiality. Service and the public trust should not be subordinated to personal gain and advantage. Integrity can accommodate the inadvertent error and honest difference of opinion; it cannot accommodate deceit or subordination of principle. 

0.300.040.04 Integrity is measured in terms of what is right and just. In the absence of specific rules, standards, or guidance or in the face of conflicting opinions a member should test decisions and deeds by asking: “Am I doing what a person of integrity would do? Have I retained my integrity?” Integrity requires a member to observe both the form and teh spirit of technical and ethical standards.