1) Susan Schwartz is an accountant for Pzierk Pharmaceuticals. Her duties include tracking research and development spending in the new product development division. Over the course of the past six months, Susan notices that a great deal of funding has been spent on a particular product for a new drug. She hears “through the grapevine” that the company is about to patent the drug and expects it to be a major advance in antibiotics. Susan believes that this new drug will greatly improve the company’s performance and will cause the company’s stock to increase in value. Susan decides to purchase share of Pzierk Pharmaceuticals in order to benefit from this expected increase.
What are Susan’s ethical responsibilities, if any, with respect to the information she has learned through her duties as an accountant at Pzierk Pharmaceuticals What are the implications to her planned purchase of Pzierk stock?