Auditing Ritter 审计学基于的环境变化的概念ch03.pptVIP

Chapter 3 ETHICS: UNDERSTANDING AND MEETING ETHICAL EXPECTATIONS Discuss Strong Governance and High Ethical Standards History shows companies with strong corporate governance and high ethical standards generally perform better then those with weak governance and low ethical expectations The key is the tone set by top management. A well-managed organization will have and enforce a code of ethics and/or a conflict of interest policy to guide its members. Comment on Accepting a Public Trust To maintain the publics trust, public accountants must act with professional integrity To help accountants with ethical dilemmas, professional associations including the AICPA, Institute of Management Accountants, and Information Systems Audit and Control Association, have codes of professional conduct The individual state boards of accountancy and state societies of CPAs have generally adopted the AICPAs Rules of Conduct Reflect Upon the Unique Licensure for CPAs Audits and other attestation reports on financial statements can only be signed by those licensed to practice as CPAs by their state board of accountancy Each state board of accountancy sets its own requirements to become a licensed CPA To become a licensed CPA, a person must pass the CPA exam, meet specific education and experience requirements, and agree to uphold the profession and its code of professional conduct Independence: A Foundation Requirement Auditors express an opinion about whether financial statements are fairly presented To be perceived as creditable, auditors must be independent in fact and appearance In fact, means the member must be unbiased and objective In appearance means that knowledgeable users of financial statements must believe the auditor is independent What are major threats to independence? Independence is a state of mind that can be impaired by a number of potential threats Compensation Schemes Partners compensation in many CPA firms is based in large part on attracting and keeping clie