AUD 2 - Professional Responsibilities & Ethics Flashcards
What is the 3-step process of the Conceptual Framework Approach regarding to Independence?
- Identify the threats
- Evaluate the significance of identified threats
- Identify & apply safeguards
What are the 7 threats to Idependence?
MUFASSA
- Self-Review - Auditing own work
- Self-Interest - acct has financial interest in client (stocks)
- Adverse Interest - Filing a lawsuit against the client
- Advocacy - Accountant promoting client’s interest/position
- Familiarity - impair appearance to the public
- Undue Influence - attempts by mgmt/others to excercise an excessive amount of influence over the accountant
- Management Participation - acct takes mgmt role
Safeguards
(to Independence)
What are the 3 different kinds?
Safeguards are controls that eliminate or reduce threats. Safeguards are considered effective if they eliminate a threat or reduce it to an acceptable level.
There are three different kinds of safeguards:
- Safeguards imposed by requirements of the profession OR legislation/regulation
- Such as SOX
- Safeguards result from client’s characteristic or policies
- Corporate governance
- Safeguards implemented by the CPA firm
- Policies (Quality Ctrl)
Whom is a Covered Member?
Covered members are persons in a position with the potential to influence audit decisions, including:
- Individuals on engagement team.
- Individuals who supervise or evaluate the engagement partner.
- Partners who provide non-attest services to the client.
A covered member would be any of the following (must be independent of the audit client):
- A member of an attest engagement team.
- A partner or manager providing more than 10 hours of nonattest services to the attest client within a fiscal year.
- The audit firm & its employee benefit plan.
- A partner in the same office in which the lead engagement partner for the attest engagement practices.
What types of engagements may a Covered Member perform?
A Covered Memeber:
- Must maintain Independence for Attestation Engagements (ERAS)
- Examinations - Audits
- Reviews
- Agreed-upon procedures
- Special Reports
- Need not be independent for:
- Taxes
- Consultations
- Preparations engagements
- Compilations (when lack of indpendence is indicated)
Direct Financial Interest
vs.
Material Indirect Financial Interest
NOTE: If both are owned by the Auditor, he/she is NOT considered independent.
Direct Financial Interest - Ownership of any equity interest, being a debtor to, or a creditor of a client.
- Materiality is not applicable. Example: Even if an auditor has only 1 stock in the audit client, the auditor is not independent since he/she has a direct/control over that financial interest.
Material Indirect Financial Interest - Holding an equity interest, being a debtor to, or a creditor of a client through some means other than direct ownership, such as owning a material interest in an investment fund that holds a material equity interest in the client.
Consulting Services
Consists of what 3 services? (PIA)
Consulting services consists of:
- Product or Technical assistance services
- Implementation services,
- Advisory services
NOTES:
- Independence NOT needed.
- A written or oral understanding w/ the client should be established.
Valuation Services
Valuation Servrices - Involves in the valuation of business, ownership interest, securities, or intangible assets. Examples:
- Purchase price allocations
- Goodwill Impairment
Personal Financial Planning Services
Personal Financial Planning Services - Assisting clients in identiying & establishing personal financial goals & resources. Services may include cash flow, risk & mgmt, investment planning, tax planning.
Tax Services
What are the 4 Reporting & Disclosure requirements?
The practitioner should not recommend a position or prepare or sign a tax return taking a position that the practitioner does not have a good faith belief that has substantial authority in favor of being sustatined on the basis of the merits of the position.
- More Likely Than Not - Greater than 50%
- Substantial Authority - Approximately 40%
- Realistic Possibility - Approximately 33%
- Reasonable Basis - Approx 20% probability of success
Employment with Audit Client
(Procedures)
Prior to leaving & After employed?
Prior to leaving:
- Must inform audit firm of conversations w/ client about possible employment
- Immediately be removed from the audit
- Once removed, the audit firm must review the work performed by the auditor planning on leaving
After Employed by the Audit Client:
- Audit firm must consider modifying the audit plan
- Assure remaining audit team is objective
- The next annual audit must be separately reviewed by an audit frim professional uninvolved in the previous audit.
Contingent Fees
&
Commissions/Referral
CPA may not accept a contingent fee for:
- Audit or Review
- Compilation of FS
- Examinations
CPA may accept a contingent fee for:
- Representing a client in an examination of an income tax refund
- Filing an amended income tax refund claiming a refund
A CPA may accept commission/referrals for:
- from Non-Attest engagement client
- Payment fully disclosed to client
- No commission if required to be independent
When may an auditor/member accept commission & referral fees? (2)
- Non-attest engagement client
- Payment fully disclosed to client
- No commission if req’d to be independent for the service provided.
Working Papers
What are the 4 exceptions to Confidentiality?
Information is considered confidential, NOT priviliaged. Must not reveal information without client permission with certain exceptions:
- Valid subpoena or summons
- IRS Administrative subpoena
- Court order
- Quality control peer review program
- Cannot give infor to another CPA, no professional courtesy
- May NOT take copes of client’s files when leavng the firm.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
(SOX)
What are the first 4 Titles?
An act created in an effort to restore investor confidence by requiring mgmt of public companies to be responsible for the accuracy of the entity’s financial statements & increasing penalties for fraudulent activity.
First 4 Titles are:
- Title 1 - Public Accounting Oversight Board (sections)
- Title 2 - Auditor Independence
- Title 3 - Corporate Responsibility
- Title 4 - Enhanced Financial Disclosures
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(RIG)
Designed to limit frivolous lawsuits, it imposes requirements to include audit tests to detect matters such as:
- Related-party transactions
- Illegal acts
- Going concern doubts
Privacy Acts
Federal Privacy Disclosure Rules - Gramm Leach-Bliley Act
vs.
The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999
Gramm Leach - When performing tax/financial planning, the FTC requires certain disclosures be made in writing or electronically to all clients
- The categories of personal info to be collected, disclosed, and to which third parties this info may be disclosed
- The CPA’s policy on sharing info of past clients & the policy regarding protecting the confidentiality, security & integrity of the info.
Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 - Prohibits financial institutions from sharing private personal info to nonaffiliated third parties w/o prior notice to the client.
How long must Work Papers be kept?
Auditor’s documentations kept for atleast 7 years under PCAOB & 5 years under GAAS that describes the work performed, evidence obtained, & the conclusions drawn to support the auditor’s report. Workpapers are considered confidential information.
PCAOB Standards (AS)
Responsible for standards related to? (4)
The PCAOB is responsible for standards related to:
- Auditing
- Attestation
- Quality Control
- Ethics Standards
- Independence
- Integrity & Objectivity
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants
(IESBA)
Contains what 3 parts?
Establishes ethic standards for accountants internationally, including requirements for auditor independence.
The IESBA contains 3 parts:
- General Application
- Professional Accountants in Public Practice
- Professional Accountants in Business
International Auditing & Assurance Standards Board
(IAASB)
Responsible for developing international auditing standards (ISA), international standards on assurance engagements (ISAE), international standards on quality control (ISQC), & practice statements.