n of responsible parties within the construction firm. This position would have been incorrect on all three counts. First, if the CPA had certified the firm's financial statements and federal income tax return, while having good reason to believe that they were based upon incorrect data, the CPA could be held fiduciarily responsible for any losses suffered by the construction firm's common stock holders to the extent that such losses could be attributed to the incorrect financial statements and tax return. Second, if the CPA had certified the financial statements and tax return, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) later challenged the filings, it is possible (as incredulous as it may appear) that the construction firm itself could claim some fiduciary liability on the part of the CPA to the firm. Third, the CPA could lose her or his authority to represent clients before the IRS and federal tax courts, if it were determined that financial statements and the construction firm's federal income tax return were prepared on the basis of data which the CPA had reason to believe were incorrect, and which fact the CPA did not disclose through disclaimers added to the financial statements and tax return.
The CPA's actions are supported by philosophical theory. A central theme in most of Aldus MacIntyre's work is that, while humanity must learn from history and anthropology of the variety of moral practices, beliefs and conceptual schemes, most of the original moral values (and even the knowledge of their existence) are absent from contemporary philosophies. The absence of these original values and/or the lack of awarene
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