Ethically Speaking

Listen as John Wiley, CPA, and Jeff Lewis, CPA, continue their discussion of what it means to act with honor. In this episode, they discuss an important topic: maintaining client confidentiality.

If you missed the first part of this discussion, look for episode 48, or part 11 of the back to basics series.

What does it mean to "act with honor"? That can be subjective, certainly, but the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct has guidance on what it means for our profession. Listen as John Wiley, CPA, and Jeff Lewis, CPA discuss some questions that come into the ethics hotline as well as some general complaints we hear in the ethics division.

Defining a family relationship may seem simple. But is it really? In this week's episode, Sarah Brack, CPA, and April Sherman, CPA, look at family relationships and how they can affect an auditor's independence. You may be surprised at some things they discuss!

Helpful related resources

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Plain English guide to independence
• Independence rules comparison: AICPA and Government Auditing Standardsf

When do members in business and industry need to be concerned about independence? What are some relationships that can impair independence? In this episode, Sarah Brack, CPA, and April Sherman, CPA, discuss various financial relationships and their possible effects on independence.

Helpful related resources

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Plain English guide to independence
• Independence rules comparison: AICPA and Government Auditing Standards

What happens when you do everything right but still experience an inadvertent breach of independence? What is a breach? In their continuing discussion of independence, Jennifer Kappler, CPA, and Nancy Miller, CPA, answer these questions as well as discussing related systems of quality control. They also discuss how independence breaches can affect members in business, who are often the clients of auditors.

Helpful related resources

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Plain English guide to independence
• Independence rules comparison: AICPA and Government Auditing Standards

What do you need to be aware of when you're providing nonattest services to audit and attest clients? What does the code mean by "suitable skills, knowledge, and experience"?

Listen as Jennifer Kappler, CPA, and Nancy Miller, CPA discuss these important questions.

Helpful related resources

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Plain English guide to independence
• Independence rules comparison: AICPA and Government Auditing Standards

Independence of mind is a vital aspect of ethics. The Independence Rule and the related interpretations help practitioners with solid guidelines when working with audit and attest clients. But what about situations you may find yourself in where the code is silent?

That's where the Conceptual Framework Approach (ET sec. 1.210) comes in.

In this episode, Jennifer Kappler, CPA, talks about the conceptual framework with Nancy Miller, CPA.

Helpful related resources

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Plain English guide to independence
• Common deficiencies: Government and not-for-profit audits
• Independence rules comparison: AICPA and Government Auditing Standards

Do you know what your responsibilities under the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct are when you encounter a situation that could compromise your integrity or objectivity?

Get a refresher in this episode with Sarah Brack, CPA, CGMA, CGFM, and Lewis Sharpstone, CPA.

You can find the code at www.aicpa.org/codeofconduct.

Listen as Sarah Brack, CPA, CGMA, CGFM, and Lewis Sharpstone, CPA, discuss the foundations of integrity and objectivity in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.

You can find the code at www.aicpa.org/codeofconduct.

Jennifer Kappler, a manager in the ethics division, and Ian Benjamin, CPA discuss the ins and outs of auditing government entities.

Helpful related resources

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Common deficiencies: Government and not-for-profit audits
• Independence rules comparison: AICPA and Government Auditing Standards

Look for other episodes in this series with the search bar at the top of the show notes. Search for "B2B" or "back to basics."

If you have feedback on this episode or if you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, shoot us an email at [email protected].

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