dentify trial balance error ethical issues.

Step 1Review the scenario.

Michael Bunnell is an accountant for a large restaurant chain with sales of over $15 million. Michael is pressured to produce financial statements for a 1 p.m. board of directors meeting, but the trial balance is not balancing. When he adds the debit column and credit column up, there is a $5,000 difference. Running out of time, he changes the amount of the "Building" accountto be increased by $5,000; now the debits and credits equal. He does not believe that this small change will affect any business decisions at the meeting, and he can find the mistake at a later time.

Step 2Post to the discussion board.

Respond to the following questions and, if appropriate, include personal experience as part of your answers.

• What are the ethical issues involved with this case?
• Who will be effected by this change?
• Do you believe Michael did the right thing?
• If not, what else could he have done differently?