“Business Ethics for Accountants” course at University of Houston, Bauer College of Business brings real-world ethical dilemmas into the classroom.

Charles W. Rawl, widely known for being one of the whistleblowers in the local Houston $7 Billion Stanford Financial Ponzi scheme, shared his personal experience with this year’s class in Dr. Michael Newman’s 2025 “Business Ethics for Accountants” course on Monday, May 12 at the Bauer College of Business, University of Houston. Charlie Rawl has become a touchstone for Dr. Newman’s ethics course over the last decade, recounting step by step how he navigated the challenges before, during, and after the scandal broke.

The “Business Ethics for Accountants” course, taught by Michael R. Newman, PhD, is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of ethical principles and their application within the accounting profession. Real-world case studies documented in business school texts are featured. In addition to the Stanford Financial scandal, which was made public in 2009, students may study the Enron and Arthur Anderson case, and as well as many other ethics-related case studies that have affected the Houston community and beyond.

As recently as 2023, five banks reached settlements amounting to $1.6 Billion in repayment for their participation in the Stanford scheme (including banks in the Houston area). Business school courses on ethics do not need to go far away to find recent examples of ethical challenges in business.

Sharing my experience with MBA students has been my privilege over the past 14 years. It’s one thing to read about ethical dilemmas in course books, while hearing about the difficult choices I had to make and the effects of those choices on my family makes it real and captivates these students.

Classroom talks led to my invitation by the Bauer MBA Society to serve in the mentorship program. These are smart and gifted individuals. I am certain that I learn more from the students than they could ever learn from me.”

— Charles W. Rawl

Charles Rawl’s first presentation of “My Ethical Compass and the Stanford Financial Scandal” was delivered to the Houston area Eagle Scout alumni association at the Sam Houston Area Council in 2011. Soon after, he was invited to speak in Austin, Texas before a professional society, Financial Executives International (FEI), and to the national convention of Delta Sigma Pi in New Orleans, a professional business fraternity in which Rawl is a member. These presentations led to the invitation to speak at the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and to mentor MBA students in the Bauer MBA Society mentorship program.

Dr. Michael Newman is a Senior Professor of Practice and Director of Accounting Programs at the C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston. The “Business Ethics for Accountants” course is a graduate-level course integral to the Certificate in Accountancy Program (CAP) and the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSACCY) curriculum at University of Houston.

Dr. Newman teaches “Business Ethics for Accountants” to university seniors, post-baccalaureate and masters of accountancy students who plan to become CPAs.

According to Dr. Newman, the purpose of the class is to educate them about the importance of ethics by conducting a thorough examination of ethics, from an accounting professional’s perspective, with a focus on the following topics:

  • Origins: the nature of ethics, its variations, and the basis for various ethical perspectives.
  • Current issues: examination of modern-day ethical decision making and behavior.
  • Ethics rules for CPAs: the laws, rules and guidelines that govern the accounting professional.

Topics discussed in detail include:

  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Integrity
  • Objectivity
  • Independence
  • Other core values for CPAs
  • AICPA, SEC, and the TSBPA Ethics Rules
  • Ethical Theories

But there is more to a good ethics education than just facts. It must include real life experiences and cases. I invite Charlie Rawl to speak to my class every time I teach it because he is able to share a real-world, first-hand account of being a whistleblower.

I find that his courage in telling his story, his honesty, his transparency and his natural speaking ability has a huge impact on the students taking my class.”

— Michael R. Newman, PhD

For the most current information regarding course offerings, schedules, and syllabi, it is advisable to consult the Bauer College of Business.