The shareholders are the owners of the organisation and therefore the profits belong to them. In a capitalist society it is rare to hear that one has gone into business for reasons other than to make as much money as possible. Friedman's view to managing business takes the classical perspective. This approach to management contends that it creates the greatest good for the greatest number, and therefore the government need not intervene. Therefore, Utilitarian reasoning assesses actions by reference to the utility they generate.
Ethical egoism can also provide a basis for defending capitalist management decisions.
So increasing the profit of the corporation would be in the long run interest of the corporation and thus would be considered as ethical. Unfortunately most accounting thought implicitly applies Utilitarian reasoning. Typically, they are also taught that they discharge their accountability via the financial statements they provide to users. But these financial reports do not show, for example, what environmental damage has been incurred by the business or if the decisions of management were ethical. Thus, accountants play an important part in making corporations more accountable, because they can provide the relevant data so that society as a whole can evaluate their environmental utilisation.