Jennifer Kappler, a manager in the ethics division, and Ian Benjamin, CPA discuss why compliance with auditing and accounting standards is so important for a self-regulating profession. Helpful related resources AICPA Code of Professional Conduct Common deficiencies: Employee benefit plan audits Common deficiencies: Government and not-for-profit audits Look for other episodes in this series with the search bar at the top of the show notes. Search for "B2B" or "back to basics." If you have feedba...
Mar 04, 2022•17 min
In this first episode of our “Back to basics” series, John Wiley, CPA, ABV, CGMA and Jerry Love, CPA, CVA, ABV, PFS, CFP, MAFF bring their considerable expertise to this opening overview of the Code of Professional Conduct and its vital role in our self-regulating profession. Whether you’re a member in business or a member in public practice, there’s something here for you. You can find the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct at aicpa.org/codeofconduct . Look for other episodes in this series wit...
Feb 25, 2022•19 min
Listen as ethics division staff give an update on PEEC’s meeting. The committee approved several changes to the Code of Professional conduct in the following areas: Noncompliance with laws and regulations Unpaid fees Assisting clients with implementing accounting standards Loans, acquisitions, and other transactions Visit PEEC’s project page for documents related to all of these and expect to see the final pronouncements on that page soon. Other projects There are lot of other updates as well, a...
Feb 18, 2022•20 min
The Professional Ethics Executive Committee’s 4th quarter meeting covered several ongoing projects and some new ones as well. Listen as division staff provide updates on discussions of the following projects: Noncompliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR) Information systems services (ISS) Current standards-setting and member enrichment project updates Compliance audits Objectivity of engagement quality reviewers Temporary enforcement policy addressing conflicts between the AICPA Code of Profe...
Nov 18, 2021•15 min
New independence guidance on loaning staff to clients becomes effective November 30, 2021. In this episode, you’ll hear the 5 things you need to be aware of when you enter staff augmentation arrangements with your clients. Resources Staff Augmentation Arrangements interpretation Staff augmentation Qs & As Journal of Accountancy articles March 2021 September 2020...
Nov 05, 2021•16 min
How do loans to and from attest clients affect your independence? The Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) is proposing changes to the Code of Professional Conduct related to loans and acquisitions. Take this opportunity to hear about the proposed changes and send your comments for consideration. The exposure period for this guidance runs through January 5, 2022 and in this episode you'll hear: Which practitioners will be affected How practice will be affected What PEEC is hoping to le...
Oct 07, 2021•11 min
PEEC wants to hear from you about proposed changes to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. In this episode, we discuss a new independence interpretation on assisting clients with accounting standards implementation. You’ll hear: Which practitioners will be affected How practice will be affected What PEEC is hoping to learn from commenters during the exposure period Why PEEC believes the new guidance is necessary Resources You can find the text of the practice aid here . You can email comments...
Sep 30, 2021•9 min•Ep. 33
When considering changes to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, the Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) wants to hear what our members and other interested parties have to say. This new series is a helpful addition to the text of exposure drafts: You can have a quick listen while going about your business to get those feedback synapses firing and take time later to dive into the text. In this inaugural episode, we discuss changes to the “Unpaid Fees” interpretation under the indep...
Sep 30, 2021•13 min•Ep. 32
Have you ever wondered how you can become a member the Professional Ethics Executive Committee, other executive committee, or any volunteer body at the AICPA? Attendees at the AICPA’s 2021 ENGAGE conference had some great questions for presenters Jim Brackens, Vice President of Ethics and Practice Quality at the AICPA, and Lewis Sharpstone, CEO of Sharpstone and Co. in California and current member of PEEC. Listen to this episode for questions on upcoming practice aids, Qs & As, and opportun...
Sep 09, 2021•17 min
Ever wonder what, exactly the Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) does or what the process is for changing the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct? Attendees at the AICPA’s 2021 ENGAGE conference had some great questions for presenters Jim Brackens, Vice President of Ethics and Practice Quality at the AICPA, and Lewis Sharpstone, CEO of Sharpstone and Co. in California and current member of PEEC. Listen to this episode for answers to questions that range from how the process for changi...
Sep 09, 2021•21 min
At this quarter’s meeting, the Professional Ethics Executive Committee agreed to issue five new Qs & As and three new ethics exposure drafts. The Auditing Standards Board has also issued exposure drafts on quality management and Ahava Goldman of the AICPA Audit and Attest team spoke about those at the meeting. PEEC discussed several other standards-setting and member enrichment projects as well. Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews, AICPA Professional Ethics Division Director, and staff discuss these ...
Aug 19, 2021•18 min•Ep. 29
A high priority of the Professional Ethics, Peer Review, and CPA Evolution teams at the AICPA is to help you, the practitioner, navigate the tricky waters of challenging times. In this episode, you’ll hear from the teams’ directors about this work and upcoming resources soon to be available.
Aug 05, 2021•19 min
Did you know when you joined the AICPA as a member that we have an ethics investigation and enforcement team? Do you know what we do as opposed to state boards of accountancy and federal agencies like the US Department of Labor? In this episode, Jennifer Clayton, Associate Director of Ethics Enforcement at the AICPA, talks with Ian Benjamin, Enforcement Subcommittee Chair, and Melissa Critcher, Subgroup Chair, to clear up some common misperceptions about the AICPA’s enforcement activities. You’l...
Jul 02, 2021•17 min
With remote work becoming more common, questions arise about what “office” means in terms of independence. Listen as Michael Schertingzer, CPA, and Kelly Hunter, CPA, discuss the history of the Professional Ethics Executive Committee’s project on the definition of “office” as well as some particulars practitioners and firms should be aware of.
Jun 03, 2021•13 min•Ep. 26
Tune into this first episode of our new ongoing series “What’s hot on the hotline.” In this episode Professional Ethics Division staffers Shannon Ziemba, CPA, CGMA and Liese Faircloth, CPA discuss records requests and nonattest services.
May 20, 2021•11 min•Ep. 25
The Professional Ethics Executive Committee held its second quarter meeting this week. Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews, director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, and staff fill you in on the highlights, including SEC and IESBA convergence, staff augmentation, upcoming member enrichment projects and more.
May 06, 2021•21 min
The Professional Ethics Executive Committee had its 1Q meeting this week. Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews, director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, and staff fill you in on the highlights, including key votes on NOCLAR, records requests, and staff augmentation. If you’d like more detail than we cover in this episode, you can review the meeting agenda . Full meeting minutes will be on PEEC’s meeting information page after PEEC's next meeting in May. What you’ll hear: (00:36) Welcome (01:08)...
Feb 11, 2021•26 min
The Professional Ethics Executive Committee had its 4Q meeting this week. Listen as Toni Lee-Andrews, Director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, and staff fill you in on the highlights, including what you can expect to see in 2021 as a result of PEEC’s strategy and work plan. What you’ll hear about: Introduction (00:33) NOCLAR (01:55) Records requests (02:33) PEEC’s three-year trategy and work plan (03:40) New Qs&As on pooled employer plans (06:06) The SEC’s recent independence revi...
Nov 18, 2020•13 min•Ep. 22
Listen as staff of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division discuss updates to the Plain English guide to independence since 2017. You'll hear about hosting services, information system services, and new SEC guidance, among other topics. Go to aicpa.org/plainenglishguide to access the guide.
Sep 21, 2020•8 min
This second of two Ethically Speaking episodes on PPP forgiveness engagements covers some questions we've had on the ethics hotline. Toni Lee-Andrews, Director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, takes a dive into specifics with Jim Brackens, AICPA Vice President of Ethics and Practice Quality, and Bob Dohrer, Chief Auditor of the AICPA Audit and Attest Standards team. Resources mentioned in this episode will be available soon on the show notes page at aicpa.org/ethicallyspeaking....
Sep 01, 2020•14 min•Ep. 20
In this first of two episodes on forgiveness engagements, you'll hear about areas of the AICPA professional standards you need to be aware of when helping your clients with loan forgiveness, including the code of conduct. Listen, as Toni Lee-Andrews, Director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division hosts a discussion with Jim Brackens AICPA, Vice President of Ethics and Practice Quality and Bob Dohrer, Chief Auditor of the AICPA Audit and Attest Standards team. Resources mentioned in this epis...
Sep 01, 2020•15 min•Ep. 19
In this episode, you’ll hear our update on NOCLAR (noncompliance with laws and regulations), the inducements practice aid, IESBA (the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants), the monitoring group recommendations, and a status report on the Statements on Standards for Tax Services. You'll hear about an Association update from Sue Coffey, executive vice president for public practice and also the PEEC strategy and work plan. In this meeting, PEEC voted to re-expose the staff augmentat...
Aug 13, 2020•48 min•Ep. 18
In this episode Diane Jules, deputy director of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants and Ellen Goria, associate director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, discuss IESBA’s recently released staff Q & A document. If you have questions about the substantive content of this episode, please call the ethics hotline at 888.777.7077 (option 2, then option 3) or email ethics@aicpa.org. If you’d like to suggest topics for future episodes, please email ethicallyspeaking@aic...
Jul 13, 2020•30 min•Ep. 17
Listen as Diane Jules, deputy director of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants and Ellen Goria, associate director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, discuss the board’s goals and the relevance of the board’s work to U.S. accountants. If you have questions about the substantive content of this episode, please call the ethics hotline at 888.777.7077 (option 2, then option 3) or email ethics@aicpa.org. If you’d like to suggest topics for future episodes, please email et...
Jul 13, 2020•28 min•Ep. 16
In this episode, Carl Mayes, CPA, and Michele Craig, CPA, discuss the AICPA’s Enhancing Audit Quality Initiative: its purpose, history, current areas of focus and some of the ongoing quality challenges firms face. What you’ll hear in this episode: • When, why, and how EAQ began. • Mechanics and logistics. Where do the numbers come from that drive relevance? • Some of the successes of the initiative. • 2020 goals for EAQ. • Long term goals
May 22, 2020•14 min•Ep. 15
Staff augmentation arrangements and non-compliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR) were two of the liveliest discussions this quarter. The Professional Ethics Executive Committee also approved a one-year deferral of the effective date of three interpretations: Information System Services, State and Local Government Client affiliates, and Leases. PEEC meetings are open to the public and we always welcome feedback and input about projects and plans. Updates in this episode: • Non-compliance wit...
May 07, 2020•30 min•Ep. 14
Listen as Aradhana Aggrawal and April Sherman, two of our independence and behavioral managers, talk about ethics hotline activity and about the new Qs&As we’ve released on hosting. Just in time for tax season, we’ve answered questions on general ledger software, tax returns, and independence. What you’ll hear in this episode • (00:40) Background, definition, and what the hosting interpretation says. • (02:00) What questions were coming in when the interpretation became effective? • (04:13) ...
Mar 03, 2020•14 min•Ep. 12
Tune in to this episode of Ethically Speaking to hear the latest about projects the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee is working on. PEEC meetings are open to the public and we always welcome feedback and input about projects and plans.
Feb 14, 2020•32 min•Ep. 11
CPAs are a helpful bunch! How can we avoid letting that delightful characteristic put us in the position of auditing our own work when we help our clients in their implementation of the new rev rec standard? In this episode of Ethically Speaking, Toni Lee-Andrews, director of the AICPA Professional Ethics Division, and Bob Dohrer, chief auditor of the AICPA Audit and Attest team, sit down to explore some of the unique challenges auditors may face this year as a result of FASB ASC 606. What you’l...
Feb 07, 2020•27 min•Ep. 10
What (and who) you’ll hear in this episode: • Toni Lee-Andrews: Introduction and welcome (00:36) • Brian Lynch: PEEC three-year strategy and work plan consultation paper (00:52) • Lisa Snyder: Staff augmentation (01:54) • Anna Doudourekas: Inducements (04:12) • Ellen Goria: IESBA update (06:04) • Nancy Miller: State and local government*; IT and cloud services - (9:40) • Stephanie Saunders: AICPA tax standards revision project (10:25) • Robert Denham: NoCLAR (non-compliance with laws and regulat...
Nov 12, 2019•23 min•Ep. 8
