Business Ethics Now 3rd Edition by Andrew Ghillyer

Exercise 17

My name is Sally Jones, and I am the office manager for Chuck Wilson, CPA, a small accounting firm in the Midwest. Life is good-it's a healthy business with a good mix of small business and individual returns, and Chuck has been a great guy to work for. He's well respected in our community as an active member of the local chamber of commerce; he does pro bono work for several local nonprofit organizations; and he's built up a loyal customer base over the years. The problem is Chuck Junior. It's always been Chuck's plan that Junior would take over the business, and with Junior having just passed his CPA exams, that time would seem to be now. The number of boating and fishing magazines that have suddenly appeared on Chuck's desk make me believe that he is thinking more seriously about retirement than ever before.

I don't begrudge Chuck his retirement-he's earned it. My job here is secure. I have done good work for Chuck, and his customers like me. However, Chuck Junior is already looking to put his mark on the business. I wouldn't be surprised if he's having some "Under New Management" signs prepared for the day when he does take over the practice. Junior likes to think of himself as "on the cutting edge of new technology" and "ready to take it to the streets" to take on the local H R Block and Jackson Hewitt offices that handle such a large portion of the individual tax returns every year. He's all excited about an article he read in one of his business magazines that he thinks will give us an advantage over the big guys-and he's already been in contact with the company that was featured in the article.
His plan is to send all our individual tax returns to a company in India that will guarantee the return will be prepared in less than 48 hours by accountants in its offices who are U.S.-licensed CPAs. The term for this is outsourcing. This, says Junior, will allow us to go after the more labor-intensive but profitable corporate returns at tax time instead of having all our time taken up with the individual returns. It will also save us from hiring any additional staff for the season. He's even figured out that, with the cost of each return this company will charge us, we can undercut the big guys and take away some of their business. He's already planning a big advertising campaign in the local papers and radio stations.
I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt on this idea, but here's my concern-he's not planning to tell anyone how we're going to do this. He's not going to mention that someone else (whom he's never met) will be preparing the tax return or that the customers' personal information will be e-mailed to India to complete the return. He says that the customers won't care as long as the return is quick, accurate, and cheaper than the other guys. With all those ads for "immediate refunds," I can see his point, but his failure to disclose just doesn't sit right with me.
Chuck Junior is obviously focusing on the money to be saved (and made) with this plan. What are the issues he is not considering