Reflection Memo

 See the attached document for instructions and expectations for the Reflection Memo.  

This is the last assignment that focuses on the Ethics & Moral Standards Memo. Make sure you read the overview description for the full details about that assignment.

For this MEMO, I want you to reflect on your experiences researching, drafting, reviewing, and revising your Ethics & Moral Standards Memo by completing BOTH PARTS as follows:

Answer in Paragraphs

·

· What changed the most from your first draft to your final draft? How did peer review and/or instructor feedback influence that change?

· Consider your work as a peer reviewer for your classmates’ first drafts. How do you think you helped improve their memos? What would you do differently as a reviewer in the future?

· What is one aspect of your memo that you would still like to improve? How would you go about doing that?

· What is one T&P writing skill that you learned or improved while working on this assignment? What do you want to learn or improve next?

Complete and Respond

1.

1. Read this overview about “Readability Tests” ( what they are, how to conduct one, how to read the results, troubleshooting, etc.).  NOTE: This file can also be found in the “Document Formatting” folder under Modules.

2. Complete a Readability Test on the final draft of your Ethics & Moral Standards Memo. 

3. Take a screenshot of the pop-up screen. Crop the image so it shows just the screen and insert it into the body of the memo.

4. Spend 1-2 paragraphs talking about the results and comparing the results against the information provided in the overview file. Consider the following as ideas to write about:

·
·
·

· Discuss what the Flesch-Kincaid scores (Reading and Grade Level) say. How do you feel about the results?

· Do you think the level is appropriate for the audience/reader? If the scores are high, what do you think you could do to make the scores lower?

· How do your results compare to some of the other publications listed in the overview? Do you think that’s a good gauge or not? 

Aim to make your answers a deep reflection on your experience that will help you grow as a writer. Answers to questions should be about a paragraph long, not just a few words. If you want to discuss something not covered in the questions above, feel free to write about it.

Generally speaking, your memo should have at least 7 short paragraphs: intro paragraph, at least 1 paragraph for each question in the “Answer in Paragraphs” section, at least 1 paragraph about Readability (don’t forget to include the screenshot!), and concluding paragraph. Odds are good this memo will be at least 2 pages – so don’t forget to use subheaders appropriately!

Readability Tests:
Keeping the Audience in Mind

About Technical & Professional (T&P) Writing

For years, college students have been trained to write academically (i.e. essays). They’ve
written to hit a page or word count and, consequently, have resorted to BS writing. Writing
nonsense sentences, redundant writing with rephrasing and restating what they’ve already
said, just to hit an elusive number. No more!

Technical and Professional (T&P) Writing is NOT Academic Writing.

Readers of T&P are BUSY! They are managers, co-workers, clients, customers, and other
busy people who don’t have time to waste wading through lardy/fluff writing. They have
better things to do and, honestly, they don’t want to read what you’ve written – so keep
documents clear, concise, and precise.

2

How Documents are Read

Technical & Professional readers don’t read every word of a document. They skim. They
use headers. They hunt for the information they want/need to make decisions or answer a
question.

They read T&P documents like a newspaper. They hop around the page and/or document
and you, as a T&P writer, always need to keep the reader in mind. (See image below which
visualizes how people read.)

3

IMAGE KEY
Red = most time

Yellow = average time
Blue/Purple = least time

Flesch–Kincaid Readability Tests

Flesch-Kincaid readability tests are designed to indicate how difficult a passage in English is
to understand. There are two tests: Flesch Reading-Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.

The tests use algorithms to determine the number of years of education a reader would
need to understand a document.

It is these two tests that both Microsoft Word and popular
writing helper Grammarly use to determine the
readability of a document.

4

How to Do a Readability Test

You can check your document’s
readability in Word by following these
instructions:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/get-
your-document-s-readability-and-level-statistics-

8

5b4

9

6

9e-e80a-4

7

77-8dd3-f7fc3c8b3fd2

5

Please note, you will have to go through
spelling and grammar checking before
the Flesh-Kincaid score shows up.

If you are in a newer version of Word
and/or on a Mac, you will need to click
on and go through every
grammar/spelling note before the
Readability Test results show up.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/get-your-document-s-readability-and-level-statistics-85b4969e-e80a-4777-8dd3-f7fc3c8b3fd2

Troubleshooting the Readability Test

If you get a pop-up screen like this (an
“Editor” screen), it is NOT readability
results. You still need to click on and
work through anything that doesn’t have
a checkmark on it. (This one has
grammar issues that need to be
addressed.)

Once fixed, then you’ll get
a “Readability Statistics”
screen with averages and

Readability results.

6

Flesch-Kincaid Scores

In the Flesch Reading-Ease test, higher scores indicate materials that are easier to
read; lower numbers mark passages that are more difficult to read.

Here’s a table to make the everything a bit easier to understand:

7

Flesch-Kincaid Scores in the World

Average Scores

• Reader’s Digest magazine = 65 → 8th & 9th grade

• Time magazine = 52 → 10th-12th grade

• Harvard Law Review = low 30s → college graduate

• State of Florida law requires insurance policies MUST have a
score of 45 or greater → college level

• Average for Harry Potter series = 72.83 → 7th grade

• Highest Score: Philosopher’s Stone = 81.32 → 6th grade

• Lowest Score: Order of the Phoenix = 65.88 → 8th & 9th grade

8

Still Struggling with Readability Test?

If you still can’t figure out how to complete a Readability Test, talk to your instructor or
Google for help.

If needed, your instructor can offer a “work around” from the Microsoft Word version…but
only with permission.

9

2

Memo

To:

From:

Subject: Code of Ethics for professional accountants under IESBA

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has a code of ethics that dictate the conduct of professional accountants across the world. Accountants are expected to follow the main principles under the Code of Ethics, which include honesty, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behavior. The code of ethics is being designed in order to prevent the existing kinds of threats to these essential principles. Self-reflection, self-interest, advocacy, comfort, and intimidation are among the threats. The general requirements of the conceptual framework must be followed in order to meet the fundamental principles and, where relevant, retain accountant independence. The code of ethics addresses four basic rights or moral standards: justice, rights, utility and caring in distinct ways through the principles outlined.

The first moral standard is utility which refers to the net benefit realized from the actions or the services offered by the professional. This is attained through combined efforts of the principles which contributes towards quality of professional work completed by the accounting. The ability of the codes in assuring utility creates competence in accounting. Utility is relative and might be interpreted differently by different parties. Therefore, there is a need to provide a new framework showing ways in which accountants should perform their duties in meeting maximum utility.

The code of conduct for the professional accountants also ensures the rights of the clients are maintained. This is used in describing the well-being and freedom of choice and well-being of the clients. This is contributed through the principle of professional competence and integrity. Accountants focus at being fair in ensuring they provide the best accounting services for the clients. The code of ethics used in guiding the professional conduct of accountants has not been keen in addressing what specific rights of a client are. This can be addressed through providing a formal list to show the specific rights of aa customer or stakeholder.

The third moral standard is justice which refers to how burden or benefits are distributed among the people. This is attained through the principle of objectivity where the accountants act according to the principles and protocols laid in the profession. This makes accounting a reliable profession particularly in determining the performance of a business or company. An improvement should be made on code of ethics particularly in defining the scope of justice.

The fifth moral standard attained is care which refers to the moral task to follow impartial processes to avoid harm on others. This moral standard is addressed through the principle of due care which refers to the efforts made by a prudent individual or a reasonable party in effort to avoid harm to others including clients. This makes accounting reliable in preventing various stakeholders such as shareholders and managers from incurring losses. However, there is a need to improve the code of ethics in meeting the standards of care by putting in place specific protocols to be used in preventing harm to indirect stakeholders who rely on financial statements prepared by accountants.

In conclusion, the code of ethics for professional accountants have been keen in meeting the basic rights of moral standards. However, there is a need to maintain an agile approach in which adjustments are made over time to enhance the effectiveness of the code.

https://www.ethicsboard.org/projects/revised-code-ethics-completed