Ethics for Accountants 2025 – 4 program on-demand webinar series

Program 1:  Handling Client Pushback: Strategies for Ethical Accountants

You would like to think that the issues of ethics and accountants in public practice has been pretty much covered in the rules and regulations issued by the regulators to date. With the various codes of ethics and conduct to comply with, along with the quality control standards and reporting obligations under both NOCLAR and the TPB, just to name a few, it could be said that the regulators have the issue of ethics well and truly regulated. So, how has the paying customer, the client, come on board with the requirements the accounting professional is required to adhere to? This session explores the topic, including:

• The ethical dilemma in practice of the regulator requirements on one hand, and the client, who is paying your bills, on the other
• Issues in practice when:
  • a client's ethics don't match their accountants
  • an accountant's ethics don't match another accountant's ethics who takes over a client after an ethical dispute
• How prevalent is client pushback in the accounting profession?
• Tips when experiencing client pushback to the ethical standards required of the accountant
• Dealing with the client that doesn't fit within the ethical framework of your practice
• The accountant considers general purpose financial statements are required - client wants special purpose to save on costs. What to do?
• The audit and the non-engaging client - what to do and how to do it
• Case study

Program 2:  Staying Ethically Compliant: Mastering the Latest Tax Agent Obligations

The legislators have been busy in recent times adding various additional responsibilities on tax and BAS agents via the introduction of the breach reporting obligations, as well as adding to the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) obligations. This session reviews the changes, including:

• A review of the changes to the Code and the Tax Practitioners Board’s interpretations
• Dealing with the contentious issues with the code changes, including:
  • the false or misleading statement requirements
  • keeping clients informed of all relevant matters
• The breach reporting obligations, including how to determine if a breach:
  • is a “significant” breach
  • results, or is likely to result, in a “material” loss or damage to another entity
• Guidance on when breach self-reporting could be triggered in practice
• Whether documentation provided by a new client, prepared by their prior accountant, could trigger breach reporting obligations, including:
  • unaddressed tax issues such as Division 7A and Section 100A
  • inflated tax claims with no justification provided by the new client
• Practical examples

Program 3:  Ethics in Quality: Implementing the Latest Quality Management Reforms

Mandatory obligations for applicable firms to establish systems of quality management for non-assurance services (APES 320), and for audits, reviews and other assurance services (ASQM 1 & 2, ASA 220), are now operative. Adding to this is the recent addition to the Tax Practitioners Board’s Code of Professional Conduct, that a quality management system must be established and maintained. Therefore, addressing the quality management requirements in a practice cannot be overlooked. This session delves into the requirements, including:

• The objectives of APES 320, ASQM 1 & 2, ASA 220, and the TPB's quality management requirements
• Content to be included in the firm's quality management documentation
• Do ASQM 1 & 2 and ASA 220 apply, in addition to APES 320, if a firm's only audits, in addition to tax services, are:
  • the odd not-for-profit audit?
  • SMSFs?
• Tips for sole practitioners and smaller firms to comply
• How to comply with the ongoing obligations of the requirements, including:
  • how often a firm's quality management policies and procedures need to be monitored
  • how a sole practitioner can satisfy the requirements
• How the requirements of APES 320 and ASQM1 differ
• Guidance to the resources available from the professional associations to assist with compliance
• Checklist of matters to be included in a firm's quality management documentation for:
  • non-assurance services
  • assurance services

Program 4:  Managing Conflicts of Interest in Practice: An Ethical Guide for Accountants

Conflicts of interest can take varying forms, including not only actual conflicts, but situations that may become conflicting, as well as situations that others may perceive to be a conflict of interest. The obligation the accountant in practice has, is to manage and minimize such conflict. This session is designed to assist with achieving that objective, including:

• Conflict of interest obligations that accountants need to comply with
• Scenarios in practice that can create conflict of interest issues and how they should be managed
• Tips for evaluating whether a potential new client may cause conflict of interest issues
• Dealing with family members and associated entities as clients
• Managing commission and referral arrangements
• Tips for documentation to be maintained supporting the managing of conflicts of interest
• Consequences of breaching conflict of interest requirements
• Practical examples