At a glance
1. Why are ethics so important to the accounting profession, particularly now?
Ethics are always important, but focus on it ebbs and flows depending on events. Recent tax leaks obviously brought professional behaviour and lack of confidentiality to the fore.
However, we should always be highly attuned to ethical situations. Brand reputation is so important – your personal brand, your employer brand and the accounting profession’s brand.
When I was teaching at university I used to say to my students, “If you think you don’t face ethical issues in your career, you’re not paying attention”.
Policy submissions from CPA Australia
2. How should CPA Australia members comply with ethical standards, and how does CPA Australia support them?
The five key fundamental principles of the profession are integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour.
These are central tenets of the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, the starting point for understanding your ethical responsibilities.
As a professional body, CPA Australia can help accountants to maintain their professional competence through professional development products centred around ethics, which we offer free of charge for members, such as Professional Ethics in Focus. There is also a dedicated helpline and, for public practitioners, a webinar on Firm Culture.
Does ethical investment pay higher returns?
3. In what areas do people often make mistakes, even unintentionally?
Ethics can be tricky. As opposed to the prescriptive rules of accounting regulation or tax legislation, ethical dilemmas can be subjective.
It is important to know your professional competence and due care limits. We used to call it “staying in your lane”, but sometimes it is difficult to know the margins of your lane.
"When I was teaching at university I used to say to my students, ‘If you think you don’t face ethical issues in your career, you’re not paying attention’."
Professional development is key to keeping up to date and understanding the margins, so is sound self-reflection.
Ask yourself, “Is this my space?”, “Should I help this long‑term client with an area I’m no longer familiar with or refer them on?”, “Are the fees worth it?” and so on.
4. Is it harder to do right thing or the wrong thing?
It is much, much harder to do the right thing. It takes a concerted effort to make sure you are always adhering to ethical principles, but that is part of being a professional.
What we give in paying attention to ethics, we get back in professional recognition and career advancement.
CPA Australia’s Policy & Advocacy tools and resources
5. In your opinion, what is the key ethical issue now?
A huge area of the ethical focus, which involves numerous members of the policy and advocacy team, concerns ethical and professional accountability in the profession, particularly in the tax, audit and consulting spaces.
We recently made a submission that advocates for members at the medium and smaller end of town. We do not want them negatively affected by over-regulation because of the behaviour of a few individuals at the top end of town.
Members are already highly regulated, so any further burden could dissuade people from continuing with the profession at a time when fewer people are joining.
We are still waiting for the final report from this inquiry. It is possible this could have substantial outcomes for members who work in public practice and consulting.
