After my brother sold his business, which my husband and I had been managing for him, I continued to work there for some months as the bookkeeper. One of my responsibilities was to write the checks to our suppliers and pay all of the other bills.
Before the new owner took over, it was my habit and commitment to our creditors, to pay their bills before we paid our salaries. If we had a lean month, sometimes our salaries were low, but those who supplied our goods and services were always paid on time.
The new owner, who sadly was also my cousin, had a philosophy of doing business that was very different from mine. He instructed me to pay our bills at the last possible moment and during lean months some bills were not paid until the following month or even later. This caused several ethical dilemmas for me.
- Should I follow my previous procedure and thus go against the owner's instructions but be true to my values and our original provider agreements?
- Should I resign as bookkeeper or stay on and do whatever I could to help pay the providers in a timely manner?
- Should I feel absolved of any responsibility to pay for goods and services in a timely manner since I was operating under a new owner and his explicit instructions?
- Is it ethical to pay bills at the last moment or during the following month since there are no laws prohibiting such actions?
