OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Gallup: Accountants ‘Top-Rated’ for Honesty, Ethics

Among Americans, 38% rate accountant ethics as above average or high to very high.

Nurses have no peer in the Gallup rankings today. But they are followed by pharmacists, high-school teachers, and medical doctors, all with close to two-thirds of Americans rating them highly. Just over half of Americans consider the honesty and ethics of clergy members and the police high or very high.

Fewer than half of Americans rate accountants as highly ethical. But they are much more likely to be viewed positively than negatively.

Tom Hood at the Maryland society:

CPAs score among the highest, placing seventh in the annual Gallup / USA Today poll of who America trusts the most. Actually, we rank first among business professionals!

Nurses ranked as the most trusted professionals as the poll asked people to rank how they would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in the surveyed fields.

CPAs enjoyed a 38 percent (“very high / high”) and 51 percent (“average”) for a net positive of 81 percent. We scored very high compared to the rankings of lawyers (with a net of 26 percent), bankers (53 percent — they took an expected hit) and business executives (24 percent). Stockbrokers, at 7 percent, beat Congress by a 1 percent net. (I wonder who the 6 percent were who voted positive?)

See: Tom Hood’s take and  Nurses Shine While Bankers Slump in Ethics Ratings.

3 Responses to “Gallup: Accountants ‘Top-Rated’ for Honesty, Ethics”

  1. Big4Life

    I shared your article with accounting friends of mine — all of whom were actually shocked to see the numbers so high for honesty and ethics; all things considered. I hope firms continue to push honesty and integrity in any way possible. We need to work hard to not only maintain our image, but to keep plugging ahead.

  2. AccountingElf

    Of course, they should be ranked much higher… Obviously not many accountants are inspiring strong trust these days.

  3. Chad Bordeaux

    I am sure this is because many states are requiring us to go sit in a mandated ethics class every year. (Joking, of course.) Perhaps Congress should be required to take some ethics classes.