ou are a trainee accountant in your second year of training within a small practice. A more senior trainee has been on sick leave, and you are due to go on study leave. You have been told by your manager that, before you go on leave, you must complete some complicated reconciliation work. The deadline suggested appears unrealistic, given the complexity of the work. You feel that you are not sufficiently experienced to complete the work alone. You would need additional supervision to complete it to the required standard, and your manager appears unable to offer the necessary support. If you try to complete the work within the proposed timeframe but fail to meet the expected quality, you could face repercussions on your return from study leave. You feel slightly intimidated by your manager, and also feel pressure to do what you can for
Placing unreasonable expectations on a student
Outline of the case
You are a trainee accountant in your second year of training within a small practice. A more senior trainee has been on sick leave, and you are due to go on study leave. You have been told by your manager that, before you go on leave, you must complete some complicated reconciliation work. The deadline suggested appears unrealistic, given the complexity of the work. You feel that you are not sufficiently experienced to complete the work alone. You would need additional supervision to complete it to the required standard, and your manager appears unable to offer the necessary support. If you try to complete the work within the proposed timeframe but fail to meet the expected quality, you could face repercussions on your return from study leave. You feel slightly intimidated by your manager, and also feel pressure to do what you can for the practice in what are challenging times.
Key fundamental principles affected Integrity: Can you be open and honest about the situation? Would it be right to attempt to complete work that is technically beyond your abilities, without proper supervision?
Professional competence and due care: Is it possible to complete the work within the time available and still act diligently to achieve the required quality of output?
Professional behaviour: Can you refuse to perform the work without damaging your reputation within the practice? Alternatively, could the reputation of the practice suffer if you attempt to perform the work?
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