Maintaining ethics has never been more critical and necessary for accounting professionals. With increasing pressure and limited time, a declining economy, and no shortage of other factors that might compromise our fundamental principles, it is crucial to ensure that ethical standards are upheld.
The course will address the following:
• Linking the importance of personal and business ethics to professional ethics, including the various difficulties associated with these elements of ethics.
• All the relevant requirements from the IESBA Code of Ethics applicable to Auditors, including:
o A practical approach to capture the essence of the principles on which our professional ethics is founded, the framework that enables us to apply it, and identifying and addressing threats to ethical principles.
o Specific coverage of each threat indicator from Parts 3 and 4 of the IESBA Code of Ethics.
o The expectations placed upon the professional accountant in response to NOCLAR.
o An overview of the ISQM 1 and 2 requirements on ethics and independence as part of the firm's quality control process.
o Brief coverage of the considerations from the Code for auditors when also rendering non-assurance services.
• A practical discussion of the most common areas prone to unethical behaviour in practice and how to caution against rationalisations and justifications.
• An overview of the impact of technology and the digital environment on the accounting professional and how members adapt their ethical approach in light of constant change.
This session does not cover the elements from Part 2 of the Code for members rendering non-assurance services in business. For a comprehensive session on ethics for such members, please refer to the available separate session.
This course covers the IESBA Code of Conduct for auditors and audit teams, quality control reviewers, and other accounting professionals rendering assurance services.
