In recent times corporate failures and accounting scandals have shaken the foundations of investor confidence. This has brought the transparency, integrity and accountability of corporations and capital markets under serious scrutiny. The public has been disquiet about the role professional auditors and audit firms played in these corporate scandals. The consequences for many of the players in the market for financial information have been enormous; reputations both of key individuals and organizations have been ruined, jobs lost, and pension funds have been eroded. The economic and social damage has been incalculable, and the implications far-reaching for corporate management, company directors, audit firms and the investing public. The accountant including the auditor played a major role in these events. The issues behind these failures may be complex but it is generally believed that a lack of ethical behaviours played a significant role in all these failures. This paper therefore attempts to address the role ethical sensitivity play with regards to auditing and tries to proffer resolutions where dilemmas exist. On the whole we concluded that auditors /accountant do face ethical dilemmas in the course of carrying out their professional duties. However it was recommended that auditor ought to have high ethical awareness while the firm and the profession monitor strict compliance with ethical and professional standards by the auditor.
Keywords: Auditing, Corporate failures, Dilemma, Ethical Sensitivity, Ethics, Integrity
