Ethically Speaking

Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews and staff of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division fill you in on what happened at this quarter's open meeting. 

You can find the full meeting agenda here. 

Topics include:

• Section 529 plans
• Private equity investment in firms
• Artificial intelligence
• Simultaneous employment
• Engagements subject to the SSAEs
• IESBA monitoring and international harmonization

If you're interested in IESBA's webinars on their sustainability exposure draft, you can read more about that and register here.

If you were unable to observe PEEC's 4Q meeting, you can listen to an overview from Toni Lee-Andrews and staff of the Professional Ethics Division. The 2-day meeting was packed with project updates and included PEEC's approval of changes to the Code of Professional Conduct related to public interest entities. 

IESBA sustainability

If you're a practitioner working in sustainability you'll want to pay close attention to IESBA's work in this area. They are planning to issue 2 exposure drafts in Q1 2024 related to sustainability and the use of experts. 

If adopted, these proposals could affect your work. Take time to check out agenda items 7 and 8A in PEEC's meeting materials for November. 

You have time to make a difference. Be sure to take advantage of that. 

PEEC will be discussing this again at the February 2024 meeting and you can register here to observe that meeting.

Did you miss this week's meeting of the Professional Ethics Executive Committee? Not to worry. You can catch the highlights here with Toni Lee-Andrews, director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division and other staff. 

You'll hear mention of beneficial ownership information reporting and you can check out resources for that here. 

In the coming weeks, detailed meeting minutes will be available here. 

Don't forget: We offer free CPE when you observe PEEC meetings. Be sure to register for the November meeting. 

Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews, director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, and staff give you the highlights of this quarter's meeting of the Professional Ethics Executive Committee. 

Discussions include international convergence efforts, new proposed guidance on public interest entities, and simultaneous employment. 

You'll hear about outreach the division is conducting on simultaneous employment and if you'd like to participate in a survey or upcoming round table, email jennifer.kappler@aicpa-cima.com.

We love it when you're able to join us for meetings... but when you can't, we're happy to give you the highlights.

Listen as AICPA Professional Ethics Division staff fill you in on all the projects the Professional Ethics Executive Committee is currently working on.

Did you know we offer free CPE credits when you observe PEEC meetings? What a great way to get a few credits and stay current with PEEC's activities! Register here for upcoming meetings.

Resources mentioned in this episode

• IESBA Sustainability project page
• IESBA Use of Experts project page
• IESBA Tax Planning and Related Services exposure draft 
• IESBA Strategy and Work Plan Draft Consultation Paper

We love it when you're able to join us for meetings... but when you can't, we're happy to give you the highlights.

Listen as AICPA Professional Ethics Division staff fill you in on all the projects the Professional Ethics Executive Committee is working on.

• (00:55) Upcoming meetings
• (01:35) Compliance audits            
• (03:10) Convergence on the fees with IESBA (International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants)
• (04:15) Convergence on engagement quality reviewer with IESBA
• (04:50) Simultaneous employment
• (05:35) NOCLAR (noncompliance with laws and regulations)
• (06:25) ISS (information systems services)
• (07:25) Solicitation or exposure of questions and answers in self-exams
• (08:30) DOL independence rules update
• (08:55) Assisting clients with implementing accounting standards
• (09:25) Online Ethics Library update
• (09:55) IESBA update
• (12:10) Update on Statements on Standards for Tax Services
• (13:55) Private equity firms and alternative practice structures

Resources mentioned

• Agenda for the November meeting
• PEEC projects page
• Online Ethics library
• Register to attend upcoming meetings for free CPE

The busier we get, the more we tend to rely on bright lines to help us navigate the world around us. Easy rules to make work simpler. But as trusted advisers in a profession the public relies on, easy rules don’t always cut it for accountants. Sometimes, as Sarah Brack, CPA, says in this episode, you have to use that big brain in extraordinary ways.

As our profession transitions from a rules-based approach to a more principles-based approach, the AICPA is here to help.

Listen as we discuss the zeitgeist, the changing profession, and the help you can find in our ethics library when you need it.

AICPA resources

• Conceptual Framework for Independence
• Conceptual Framework for Members in Public Practice
• Conceptual Framework for Members in Business
• Toolkits – Look on this page for the list of interactive toolkits we discussed in the episode.
• Ethics hotline: 888.777.7077 (option 2 then option 3) or ethics@aicpa.org

International resource

IESBA fact sheet: If you’re interested in diving deeper into how international standards are evolving, you can start with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ fact sheet on the role and mindset changes.

Winter is coming...  Are you overwhelmed with clients asking you to amend their 941s? And are you getting calls from businesses offering to help you out for a fee?

In this episode, Joan Farris and John Wiley, two CPAs on staff in the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, talk through some questions we’re getting on the hotline. What’s legit and what isn’t, what could put you at risk, not just of violating various codes of conduct, but of being the subject of a lawsuit when all is said and done?

You’ll want to listen in and check out the following resources.

AICPA resources

Take a learning dive into the code

• Contingent Fees Rule
• Commission and Referral Fees Rule
• Independence Rule

Call the hotline

You can reach the ethics hotline at

• 888.777.7077, option 2 then option 3
• ethics@aicpa.org

You can reach the tax section at taxsection@aicpa.org

Listen to related episodes from the Tax Odyssey podcast:

• Reconciling ERC claims with reality: The state of ERC now (September 22, 2022)
• Q&A on ERC, tax legislation and IRS woes: Covers several legislative items, including ERC (June 30, 2022)
• Mythbust and maximize the employee retention credit: Take a deep dive into the ERC (June 7, 2022)
• ERC — What we know now: A look at guidance released in Aug. 2021 (August 11, 2021)
• Challenges with contingency fees and the ERC: A look at how contingent fee rules have evolved and how they relate to the ERC (June 9, 2021)

Other resources

• Exposure draft of the revised Statements on Standards for Tax Services
• Download: ERC: Fact or fiction?

You’re busy. Crazy busy — serving your clients, volunteering, taking care of your family and friends, and somewhere in all that, hopefully finding time for yourself. With everything else on your mind daily, you may not know the finer points of your ethical obligations when a client requests records from you.

Jennifer Clayton, CPA, and John Wiley, CPA, come to the rescue in this episode where we cover some dos and don’ts and examples, and give a high-level overview of records requests to point you in the right direction.

Just knowing that the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (and indeed your state society and state board codes) have rules around this is helpful.

Next time the issue comes up and you have questions, you can always call us on the ethics hotline at 888.777.7077 (option 2 then option 3) or email us at ethics@aicpa.org. John may even be the person you talk to!

If you have time and would like to dig deeper, here are some resources to help:

• Q&As on records requests
• Records Requests interpretation
• Acts Discreditable Rule
• Confidential Client Information Rule
• Interpretations under the Confidential Client Information Rule

Eagerly awaited changes to the DOL independence guidance for employee benefit plans are live in the Federal Register today.

Listen as Summer Young, CPA, currently a senior manager in the AICPA Professional Ethics Division and formerly a practicing EBP auditor, walks us through the history and changes.

Keep an eye on the Online Ethics Library for helpful guidance we'll be publishing and also be sure to check out the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center.

DOL resources

• Press release
• Interpretive bulletin
• Federal Register notice

Patches and the "discrete tool" exception... Important concepts when considering whether the help you're giving a client will impair your independence.

In this episode, Liese Faircloth and Iryna Klepcha, two CPAs on staff in the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, continue their discussion with Dan O'Daly, a managing director in Deloitte's independence office, about changes to the Code of Professional Conduct related to technology.

If you missed the first two parts of this discussion, look for episodes 57 and 58.

Related resources

• Information Systems Services interpretation
• ISS practice aid
• Nonauthoritative questions and answers regarding cybersecurity services
• Nonauthoritative questions and answers regarding information systems
• Internal Audit interpretation

Our confidential ethics hotline can be reached at 888.777.7077 then dial option 2, option 3

If you'd like email updates about new Ethically Speaking episodes and other ethics content, subscribe to Digital Dose of Ethics. Just click the link and type "Subscribe" in the subject line. You can unsubscribe at any time.

In this episode, Liese Faircloth and Iryna Klepcha, two CPAs on staff in the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, continue their discussion with Dan O'Daly, a managing director in Deloitte's independence office, about changes to the Code of Professional Conduct related to technology.

They highlight why PEEC concluded that operating or managing a client’s IT help desk is a management responsibility, and give examples of when providing IT help desk related tasks will and won't impair independence.

If you missed the first part of this discussion, look for episode 57.

Related resources

• Information Systems Services interpretation
• ISS practice aid
• Nonauthoritative questions and answers regarding cybersecurity services
• Nonauthoritative questions and answers regarding information systems
• Internal Audit interpretation

It's rare to scan through a professional news feed these days without an article or opinion piece on technology in the accounting profession. The changes are exciting and the implications for practice are profound. And there are some things you need to be aware of when it comes to independence.

In this episode, Dan O'Daly, a managing director in Deloitte's independence office, talks with Liese Faircloth and Iryna Klepcha, two CPAs on staff in the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, about changes to the Code of Professional Conduct related to technology.

The revised interpretation "Information Systems Services" becomes effective January 2023. Be sure to catch each of the three episodes in this "ISS" series to find out what you need to know to be prepared.

Helpful links

3 new Q&As on implementing the interpretation

Practice aid

Other interpretations mentioned in the episode:

• Cumulative Effect on Independence When Providing Multiple Nonattest Services
• Management Responsibilities
• General Requirements for Performing Nonattest Services
• Documentation Requirements When Providing Nonattest Services

If you'd like email updates about new Ethically Speaking episodes and other ethics content, subscribe to Digital Dose of Ethics. Just click the link and type "Subscribe" in the subject line. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews and staff of the Professional Ethics Division give an overview of the Professional Ethics Executive Committee's 3rd quarter meeting. Topics include updates on  information systems services and noncompliance with laws and regulations.

Check out the Online Ethics Library. If you don't have the link handy, just type aicpa.org/ethicslibrary into the address field of your browser.

For more details about the meeting, see meeting minutes and agendas. Minutes for this meeting should be available soon.

You can also register to attend future PEEC meetings. Get free CPE while staying current with what's happening in ethics both at home and abroad.

If you have comments on this episode or if you'd like to suggest ideas for future episodes, email us at ethicallyspeaking@aicpa.org.

The Great Resignation... the Great Reshuffle... the Big Quit. Different names for the same phenomenon that we see happening all around us. Our profession is no exception, but there may be important ethical considerations if you are moving into a role at an attest client of your firm.

In this episode, we discuss simultaneous and subsequent employment considerations that Melissa Powell, CPA, and Emily Daly, CPA, have been talking with members about on the ethics hotline.

Resources mentioned

• "Considering Employment or Association With an Attest Client" interpretation
• "Subsequent Employment or Association With an Attest Client" interpretation
• "Simultaneous Employment or Association With an Attest Client" interpretation
• Conceptual Framework for Independence
• Chapter 2 of the Plain English guide to independence

Did you know there's a confidential ethics hotline? You can call 888.777.7077 then dial option 2, option 3 when you have questions about ethics and the Code of Professional Conduct. 

It's true. In this episode, Emily Daly, CPA talks all about the hotline, explaining what we can and can't answer, how it all works, when you can expect to hear back about an issue, and other topics.

Email us at ethicallyspeaking@aicpa.org if you have comments on this episode or if you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes. 

Listen as Mimi-Blanco Best and Ellen Goria, CPAs and associate directors at the AICPA, discuss some potential pitfalls of SOC 2® reporting and offer advice and tools for avoiding issues and ensuring you meet your ethical responsibilites when performing these engagements.

Q&As

Here are the Q&As Mimi and Ellen discuss. You'll need to be signed into your AICPA account to access these.

If you don't already have an account, you can sign up free of charge.

SOC 2 guide

The AICPA will be publishing a new edition of the SOC 2 guide this year and both of these purchase options give you a full year subscription to updates:

• Online subscription
• Ebook

PEEC is proposing changes to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. Listen as Melissa Powell, CPA, and Nancy Miller, CPA discuss why the changes are necessary and what PEEC hopes to learn from members and other interested parties during the comment period for two new exposure drafts.

You can find the exposure drafts and online comment forms at

www.aicpa.org/ethicscomments

You can also read the Journal of Accountancy announcement.

If you have comments on this episode or if you'd like to suggest topics for future episodes, email us at ethicallyspeaking@aicpa.org.

Toni Lee-Andrews and staff of the Professional Ethics Division give an overview of the Professional Ethics Executive Committee's 2nd quarter meeting. Topics include compliance audits, unpaid fees, client confidentiality and data security, information systems services, and more.

For more details about the meeting, see meeting minutes and agendas. Minutes for this meeting should be available in June.

You can also register to attend future PEEC meetings. Get free CPE while staying current with what's happening in ethics both at home and abroad.

If you have comments on this episode or if you'd like to suggest ideas for future episodes, email us at ethicallyspeaking@aicpa.org.

In this episode, John Wiley, CPA, and Jeff Lewis, CPA, continue their discussion of what it means to act with honor, specifically as that relates to fees.

If you missed the previous parts of this discussion, look for episodes 48 and 49, which are parts 11 and 12 of the back to basics series.