Sonya Packovski was hired as the assistant accountant of Delicacy Foods, a gourmet food business that has nine retail stores concentrated in one city. Among other things, the payment of all invoices is centralised in one of the departments Sonya manages. Her main responsibility is to maintain the business’s high credit rating by paying all bills when due and to take advantage of all settlement discounts.

Adam Fox, the former assistant accountant, who has been promoted to accountant, is training Sonya in her new duties. He instructs Sonya that she is to continue the practice of preparing all cheques ‘net of discount’ and dating the cheques the last day of the discount period. ‘But,’ Adam continues, ‘we always hold the cheques at least 4 days  beyond the discount period before mailing them. That way we get another 4 days of interest on our money. Most of our suppliers need our business and don’t complain. And, if they scream about our missing the discount period, we blame it on the mail room or the post office. We only lose one discount out of every hundred we take that way. I think everybody does it.’ 

Required

(a) What are the ethical considerations in this case?

(b) What stakeholders are harmed or benefited?

(c) Should Sonya continue the practice started by Adam? Does she have any choice?