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Healthcare Accounting Principles and Ethics

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Financial Management, Reporting Practices, and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance Allison Moore Financial Management, Reporting Practices, and Ethical Standards in Health Care Finance Health care managers have many responsibilities, which support their roles in creating and maintaining successful organizations. A key responsibility managers undertake is the ability to manage financials appropriately. "First and foremost, financial management is a decision science. Whereas accounting provides decision makers with a rational means by which to budget for and measure a business’s financial performance, financial management provides the theory, concepts, and tools necessary to make better decisions” (Gapenski, 2007). For …show more content…

The fore mentioned reporting principles are required because they force organizations to adhere to ethical reporting methods. Financial reports must be reported fairly and factually to ensure all parties receive reliable and unbiased information. A perfect example of this is the Principle of Prudence. If a department manager receives a report that understates previous expenses and exaggerates department revenues, the manager would not have a valid budget to work with. Not possessing a correct budget could affect wages, hiring, supply orders, decisions, and multiple other operational areas. This could lead to a lack of resources and poor decisions that ultimately reduce patient care objectives. In terms of revenue, multiple medical facilities rely heavily on government funding. To receive government funding, these facilities must adhere to outlined reporting practices. Facilities that fail to do so will lose a substantial amount of government revenue. In addition, fines may be imposed for compliance failures. Although the most significant downfalls of false reporting are false expectations and possible bankruptcy. If organizations do not control expenses and drive revenues, they will not remain in business. By keeping managers in the dark, one could not expect them to drive positive outcomes. These are just a few examples of why reporting standards are so important. Ethical Conduct of

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