Unit 6 Assignment

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Western Dakota Technical Institute *

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AC502

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Accounting

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Feb 20, 2024

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Jessica Hall Unit 6 Assignment As an accountant there are many responsibilities that you have when in a professional relationship. You must worry about ethical, legal, and professional responsibilities. In the world of accounting, I think that a lot of these responsibilities coincide with each other and typically overlap. One of the first things that you learn when starting a journey as an accountant is how important ethics are. It is extremely hard to be an accountant if you are not ethical. The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has a code of ethics that outlines all of the ethical responsibilities of an accountant. The first thing the IESBA touches on is integrity. To have integrity means that you must be completely honest and forthcoming in all business and professional relationships. (IESBA, 2005) The next thing is objectivity. This means that the accountant shouldn’t allow any kind of bias, conflict of interest or undue influence of any kind. The next code is professional competence and due care. This section states that an accountant has a duty to not only be knowledgeable but continue to maintain that knowledge and skill. By doing this you are ensuring that you are going to provide what is necessary to your client. It also states that you must act in accordance with any technical or professional standards that would be applicable to the services you are rendering. (IESBA, 2005) The next code is about confidentiality. Confidentiality is a reoccurring principle in accounting. This section discusses that as accountants we are privy to a lot of information that isn’t intended for the masses to know. This outlines that we must respect the confidentiality of our clients and not disclose any information to
third parties. Along with the confidentiality, an accountant should never use the information for their own personal gain. (IESBA, 2005) The last code that the IESBA covers is professional behavior. This section of the code of ethics says that we should be complying with any laws or regulations. It also states that we would want to avoid any action that could discredit the profession. (IESBA, 2005) Now let’s talk about professional responsibilities that accountants have. I think that this good hand in hand with the code of ethics because there are a lot of overlapping principles. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has created a code of professional conduct that has six primary principles. Those principles are responsibility, the public interest, integrity, objectivity and independence, due care, and scope and nature of services. ( The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct - Overview , 2022) The first principle is responsibility. This principle states that accountants have a responsibility to all individuals or bodies employing services. This principle also discusses that we have a responsibility to protect the interests of the accounting practice and that we need to maintain the public’s trust and respect. ( The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct - Overview , 2022) The next principle touches on the public interest. As you can see, we have some overlapping ideas from the responsibility principle. This principle outlines that the public relies on accountants heavily for their skills and knowledge to maintain orderly commercial functions. ( The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct - Overview , 2022)
The next principle is one we have heard before, integrity. If an accountant doesn’t have integrity then there would be no trust from the public. This requires honesty and candidness when dealing with clients and their confidentiality. ( The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct - Overview , 2022) Objectivity and Independence is the next principle. This principle states that accountants are to be impartial. It also says that they must be honest no matter the outcome. There are seven threats to auditor independence. Those are: Financial self-interest: when the auditor has a financial stake in the client. Advocacy: when an auditor acts to promote the client Adverse interest: when the interests of the auditor and the client are opposed to one another. Familiarity: the auditor has new or existing relationship with a client or an associate of the client. Undue influence: when the client’s management attempts to exercise influence over the auditor. Self-review: when the auditor works for a client in another capacity. ( The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct - Overview , 2022) Due care is another principle that we see a reoccurring theme. This principle states that the accountant should always be trying to be the best at what they do and strive for excellence. It also explains that they have an obligation to continue learning, growing and increasing their professional knowledge. ( The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct - Overview , 2022)
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