Professional Ethics: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Comprehensive Course

Ethical accounting is a MUST

Understanding and applying ethical principles and independence requirements is every accounting and finance professional’s responsibility. You'll learn the fundamentals of ethical accounting to help you adhere to professional ethics standards. Essential ethics topics include:

• Viewing and analyzing ethical matters
• Adhering to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Applying the code’s conceptual framework
• Evaluating conflicts of interest and maintaining confidentiality

Maintaining your independence

Independence rules play a key role in professional ethics as well. Vital topics you'll explore are:

• The AICPA independence rules
• Independence rules regarding personal financial interests, loans, employment, and business relationships that relate to you and your immediate family
• Independence rules from regulators, including the SEC and PCAOB

Other ethics considerations

More topics in professional ethics you'll cover include:

• Rules that apply to government auditors and audits of employee benefit plans, federally funded charitable organizations, financial institutions, and insurance
• Rule interpretations related to gifts and entertainment
• Ethics rules related to professional tax services

Real-world scenarios

Case studies and realistic examples will enhance your comprehension and enable you to practice what you’ve learned.

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR CPE CREDIT:

Many states do not accept the AICPA course to meet the ethics requirement for earning or maintaining a CPA license. Please contact your state board to determine which ethics course is required to earn your license. If you are taking the course for licensure you must pass with a score of 90 percent or higher to qualify towards earning your CPA license. If you are taking the course to maintain your existing license you must pass with a score of 70 percent or higher.

The version of this course for licensure is go here.

Who Will Benefit

• Accounting and finance professionals earning a CPA license
• CPAs maintaining their CPA license

Key Topics

• AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and its Conceptual Framework
• Ethics and independence rules from the AICPA and other regulators, including the U.S. government
• Activities that discredit the profession
• Ethics interpretations issued by PEEC
• NOCLAR
• AICPA Statements on Standards for Tax Services (SSTSs)
• U.S. Treasury Department’s Circular No. 230
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) penalty provisions

Learning Outcomes

• Recall ethical rule setters and methodologies for analyzing ethical matters.
• Recognize the interpretations of the "Integrity and Objectivity" rule.
• Identify the provisions of professional conduct.
• Recall how independence rules apply to personal matters.
• Recognize rules for a firm's independence.
• Recognize SEC and PCAOB independence rules.
• Identify ethical regulatory requirements of other regulators.
• Identify ethics rules for the tax practice.