Professional Responsibilities Flashcards
Describe the Public Interest article from the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Members should accept the obligation to act in a way that will serve the public interest, honor the public trust, and demonstrate commitment to professionalism.
Integrity requires the observance of what principles?
- Objectivity; 2. Independence; 3. Due Care.
Describe the Responsibilities article from the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
In carrying out their responsibilities as professionals, members should exercise sensitive professional and moral judgments in all their activities.
Describe the objectivity and independence principles of integrity.
“A member should maintain objectivity and be free of conflicts of interest in discharging professional responsibilities. A member in public practice should be independent in fact and appearance when providing auditing and other attestation services.”
List the Articles of the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
- Responsibilities; 2. The Public Interest; 3. Integrity; 4. Objectivity and Independence; 5. Due Care; 6. Scope and Nature of Services.
Describe the Integrity article from the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
“To maintain and broaden public confidence, members should perform all professional responsibilities with the highest sense of integrity.”
Describe the concept of due care as it relates to Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
A member should observe the profession’s technical and ethical standards, strive continually to improve competence and the quality of services, and discharge professional responsibility to the best of the member’s ability.
List the features of objectivity.
- Impartiality; 2. Intellectual honesty; 3. Freedom from conflicts of interest.
List the services that can be performed by the auditor that do not require independence.
- Compilation; 2. Tax; 3. Consulting services not banned by Sarbanes-Oxley.
How should the scope and nature of services to be provided be determined in relationship to the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct?
A member in public practice should observe the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct in determining the scope and nature of services to be provided.
What level of professional conduct is established by the Code?
Minimum levels have been established.
List the types of activities to which independence rules do not apply under the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Tax Work; Consulting.
List the four major areas of concern related to independence under the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Employment Ties; Financial Ties; Consulting; Family Ties.
List the types of safeguards in the conceptual framework outlined in the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Professional, Legislative, or Regulatory; Client Safeguards; Firm Safeguards, such as quality control.
What activities are included in the category of attest work?
Audit or review of F/S; Compilation of F/S expected to be used by third parties; or Examination of prospective financial information.
To what type of work does the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) rules apply?
The rules apply to attest work.
Who are considered to be in a Position to Influence (PTI) as outlined in the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct?
Those who: Evaluate the performance or recommend compensation of attest engagement partner (AEP); Directly supervise the AEP and all successively senior levels; Consult with team during engagement; Provide quality control or other oversight.
List the “covered members” outlined in the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct.
Team Members; Those in a Position to Influence (PTI) team members; Other Partners in the Office (OPIOs); Ten-Hour People; The Firm; Any entity controlled by the above.
Under what conditions can non-covered members create independence problems?
They can create problems if they: Are partners or professional employees of the firm, who Own more than 5% of audit client’s stock or hold certain key positions.
Does a blind trust preserve independence?
No. A blind trust does not preserve independence.
Does entertainment provided by a client to the auditor impair independence?
Not necessarily. Independence is not impaired if entertainment provided by the client is “reasonable under the circumstances.”
List the type of permitted loans from financial institution clients that will not impair independence.
Grandfathered; Certain de minimis loans that are small and collateralized.
Do gifts from a client to the auditor impair independence?
Not necessarily. While gifts can impair independence, independence is not impaired if the value is “clearly insignificant.”
Under the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct, what type of financial interest impairs independence?
Direct and Material; Indirect and Material; Direct and Immaterial; But not: Indirect and Immaterial.