Comparing AICPA And IFAC Code Of Ethics

“ In order to prevent fraudulent financial reports and statements, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) has created ethical standards” (Ethical standards in a financial statement, 2011). These standards aim to make financial professionals accountable for their accounting practices. This includes the integrity of financial reporting and ensuring financial reporting is done fairly and factually. Financial accountants and professionals should maintain professional integrity, objectivity, and independence to reduce the risk of resulting legal action, loss of profits, and a poor reputation if improper financial reporting is done (Ethical standards in a financial statement, 2011).

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is a professional accounting organization whose members are certified public accountants (CPAs). The AICPA published the generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). GAAS are those guidelines which auditors must follow while conducting an audit of a company's financial statements. Generally accepted auditing standards are divided into three main areas: general standards, fieldwork, and reporting.

Accountants are held to a higher ethical standards and they must performed their duties in compliance with standards or ethical values of honesty, integrity, objectivity, due care, confidentiality, which must be fully committed to. They must put clients or public interest first before their own. They must have and ethical values and maintain those values way beyond what the society or the company’s code of ethic. It is important that accountants’ behavior or ethical values is in conformity with the

In May 2008, the AICPA’s Governing Council designated the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) as the body authorized to establish international financial accounting and reporting principles under rule 202 and 203 of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. Below is an illustrative Independent Auditor’s Report on financial statements issued in conformity with IFRS.

AICPA emphasizes the vast career options accountants have. In every government and economic sector accountants are used. Whenever there is a transaction an accountant must

Three characteristics comprise the Model of Trust Enhancement – ability, benevolence and integrity. According to the textbook, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct consists of the principles and rules established by the profession to aid as guidance in the

AICPA Code of Professional Conduct is the code of conduct that required each member of the organization to follow rigorously and act with integrity, objectivity, due care, competence, fully disclose any conflicts of interest (and obtain client consent if a conflict exists), maintain client confidentiality, disclose to the client any commission or referral fees, and serve the public interest when providing financial services. Accountants are relied upon to be trustworthy and maintain high ethical standards. It is because of the nature of the profession that puts them in a position of trust with people who rely on their professional judgment and guidance in making decisions. These decisions are extremely important in accounting

Ethics in any industry is important, but for Accounting professionals and those in need of their services, it is a particularly stressed element. Information provided by accountants is used to make major decisions, including investing, downsizing, expanding, etc, so accountants are expected to be competent, reliable, and have a high degree of professional integrity. Because of these high expectations, the professional accountancy industry, like many other professions, has adopted professional codes of ethics (Woelfel, 1986). These ethical codes go above and beyond the requirements for state or federal laws and regulations. There are several professional organizations within the

The study is important because it examines the role of ethics in accounting. The research on identified problems is necessary due to vagueness of ethics concepts and its difficulty to

For nonpublic companies auditing guidance are issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AICPA. Prior to PCAOB, AICPA served as the primary governing body of public accounting profession. Since the roles have changed with PCAOB regarding the auditing standards for public companies, the AICPA is still developing standards for the nonpublic companies. The organization has developed four fundamental principles that govern an audit conducted in accordance with GAAP. The principles are:

Accounting is the planning, recording, analyzing, and interpreting of financial information. It is a professional designation, which places the utmost emphasis on integrity and strong ethical standards. The decisions accountants make effect the decisions of others.

Integrity – Accountants should always ensure that they are honest and straightforward in their activities with every instance that they have clients. They should always maintain the lines of duty and maintain business relationships during all official duties (Nobes, 2015).

The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, regardless of its numerous strengths, the Code of Professional Conduct has some serious weaknesses. The accounting profession is constantly changing and making improvements. The first weakness in the Code of Professional Conduct deals with conflictions within the code due to the code being constantly updated (Dienhart, 1995). Dienhart, Lunday, and Tavani have all criticized professional codes because the directives cause conflictions with one another, whether it is direct or indirect. Rule 301 and SAS No. 99 are examples when the code is having conflicting standards. Rule 301, Client Confidential Information, states that professionals shall not

In 1962, many at the Eighth International Congress of Accountants voiced the need to be able to compare financial statements from different parts of the world with a common set of standards. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) published a book on the various accounting standards and practices in various countries. The AICPA also thought steps should be taken towards the idea of a single body of accounting principles by reactivating a committee on international relations (AICPA 1964). The AIPCA sought to foster the development of auditing, accounting, and reporting standards on an international basis. Wilkinson (1965) was one of the early authors to define accounting uniformity as “each company presents only one set of accounts for all investors, of whatever nationality.” This idea, along with many others would eventually culminate in the establishment of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) some years later.

Code of ethics promotes the ethical culture in an internal audit profession. Principles and rules of conduct