AAA Model of Ethical Decision Making

The American Accounting Association model is intended to provide a framework to assist in ethical decision making. It operates by asking a set of seven questions, the ultimate outcome of which determines the decision to be taken.

The questions are:

Step 1, establishing the facts of the case
While perhaps obvious, this step means that when the decision-making process starts, there is no ambiguity about what is under consideration.


Step 2, identify the ethical issues in the case
This involves examining the facts of the case and sking what ethical issues are at stake.


Step 3, Identification of the norms, principles and values related to the case
This involves placing the decision in its social, ethical and in some cases, professional behaviour context. Professional codes of ethics or the social expectations of the profession are taken to be the norms, principles,a nd values. For example, if stock market rules are involved in the decision, then these will be a relevant factor to consider in this step.

Step 4, identify each alternative course of action
This involves stating each one, without consideration of the norms, principles, and value identified in step 3, in order to ensure that each outcome is considered, however appropriate or inappropriate that outcome might be.


Step 5, the norms, principles and values identified in Step 3 are overlaid on to the options identified in Step 4
When this is done, it should be possible to see which options scored with the norms and which do not.


Step 6, to consider the consequences of the outcomes
Again, the purpose of model is to make the implications of each outcome unambiguous so that the final decision is made in full knowledge and recognition of each one.


Step 7, the decision is made.