APES 110 and Public Trust

This report examines how APES 110, the Australian Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board's code of ethics, contributes to building public trust in the accounting profession. It analyzes key sections of the code, including integrity, objectivity, professional competence, confidentiality, and professional behavior, and their impact on building confidence in accountants' services.

ETHICS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................................1
Demonstrating how APES 110 may contribute towards development of trust of the public in
accounting profession.......................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Professional Ethics in accounting profession is important for delivering better services to clients.
Present report deals with APES (Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards) 110 which is imparted by
APESB of Australia giving ethical code of conduct to all its members. Report surrounds over
demonstrating how APES 110 can contribute towards the development of trust of public in accounting
profession. Various sections enumerated in code are explained with focusing on ethics which are
provided to clients in imparting competent services leading to maximum satisfaction and due repute
towards profession. Professional ethics means guidelines being imparted to accountants to act
responsibly in providing services of accounting and also to review confidential financial information in
effective manner. Moreover, sound judgement should be made with relation to all accounting activities.
Technical accounting standards such as APES 110 must be followed with due care while delivering
services.
MAIN BODY
Demonstrating how APES 110 code may contribute towards the development of trust of public
in accounting profession
APESB (Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board) has provided various guidelines
which are to be followed by organisation in delivering services to clients. In relation to this, APES 110 is
dedicated to code of ethics for professional accountants imparting clarity to public that ethics are being
accounted for while providing services. Accountants in practice must comply with all sections of code
and engage in giving fair facilities so as to enhance greater trust among public towards accounting
profession quite effectually. As governed by the code, professional activities means accounting skills
undertaken by members that may include auditing, taxation, consulting to management and financial
management. Member in practice provides all such services in terms of payment granted from clients
and thus, delivers competent services by complying with the professional ethics code of APES 110.
Logical argument- Professional ethics in accounting is a moral-based standard conduct utilised
for distinguishing acceptable things from unacceptable one.
Section 100 Introduction and Fundamental Principles
It is listed with fundamental principles and introduction of APES 110 having various regulations
to be followed so as to abide by code and thereby, delivering professional services complying with ethics
in the interest of public. In relation to this, distinguishing mark of accounting profession is to accept
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responsibility to act in accordance with benefit of public. It is required that members have due duty
towards public to satisfy needs of client or employer and also to comply with code ( Compiled APES 110
Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, 2017). There are various sections which are applied in
relation to provide better services to clients such as section 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 forming base for
enhancing trust to public for accountancy profession.
Member shall identify threats in terms of specific compliance with principles and determine if
threats are not at acceptable level then appropriate safeguards should be applied in order to minimise
risk up to a major extent. Moreover, members should take into account qualitative and quantitative
factors so as to judge and evaluate the significance of threat (Mladenovic, Martinov-Bennie & Bell,
2017). There are various kinds of threats that may prevail by a range of relationships and circumstances
which may affect member's compliance with the code which are as follows:
 Self-interest threat
It is a threat that a financial or any other kind of interest would influence the member's
judgement up to a high extent.
 Self-review threat
The type of threat that a member will not assess the results of previously made judgement duly
performed by member or by another person within member's firm or employing company, on which
member will rely upon while forming judgement particularly in current services provided by him.
 Advocacy threat
This is a threat that member will effectively promote position of business clients to that point
leading to affecting member's objectivity and compromising the same.
 Familiarity threat
Familiarity enriches due to establishment of long-term relationship with employer or client. It is
a threat in which member in practice will be sympathetic or supportive to their interests or accepting of
their work (Caratti & et.al., 2018). Hence, because of familiarity, individual's behaves in favour of clients
affecting professional ethics.
 Intimidation threat
Intimidation threat means that member will be discouraged or deterred to act in accordance to
objectivity because of actual pressures including attempt to exercise undue influence over member.
By analysing this, safeguards should be provided in order to provide professional services up to a
major extent. It is offered so as to eliminate or reduce threat particularly them to an acceptable level
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(Anderson & Hedges, 2017). These includes safeguards in the work environment. Moreover, safeguards
are created by legislation, profession and regulation. It can be further classified as:
 Educational, training and experience requirements for entering in profession.
 Continuing professional developments
 Corporate governance regulations
 Complying with professional standards
 Regulating monitoring and disciplinary procedures External review by legal third party of reports, important communications or information
generated by individual member.
Section 110 Integrity
Integrity means member in practice is obliged to be straightforward and honest in his practices
and maintain effective business relationships (Khovrak & Kozyarchuk, 2018). Moreover, integrity implies
dealing fairly and in a true manner by providing professional services which benefits clients or
employers. This will develop trust of public towards accounting profession and also they will rely on
information imparted by them as it seems to be ethically right. Moreover, in order to deepen the trust
of public in this profession, member should not knowingly be associated with information which he
believes that it contains materially false information, or it is furnished recklessly or any important
information is omitted which is essentially needed to analyse truthfulness of information. Hence, by
complying with integrity, public trust may be strengthened towards professionals engaged in
accounting.
Section 120 Objectivity
Objectivity is another important amendment in APES 110 which governs that accountants or
member should not compromise with their professional duties and is entitled to effectively behave in
orderly manner enumerated under ethics code of APES 110. In simple words, it imposes obligation on
members' that they should not compromise their judgement because of biasness, conflict of interest
etc. On the other hand, undue influences over members should be taken into account so that it may not
harm professional code of conduct and as such, objectivity principle is not impaired. Hence, because of
objectivity principle, member effectively delivers services to clients with reference to professional ethics
building trust among public towards accounting profession (Chaplin, 2017).
Section 130 Professional Competence and Due Care
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Member in practice should provide better services with due care so that law inscribed in APES
110 does not lead to violation else, public will lose trust towards accounting professionals. Individual
member requires maintaining skilful knowledge in terms of professionalism in order to make ensure that
clients or employer receives better services. Moreover, to act in a diligent manner by complying with
professional standards and technical aspects while undertaking professional activities in the best
possible way. Sound judgement should be provided so that clients may get satisfied up to major extent
and trusts can be built in them towards professionals doing various tasks such as financial management,
accounting work, taxation and related competent services. Hence, all these services requires acting
diligently by members and carry out the work in that way by which maximum satisfaction may be
achieved to clients quite effectively.
Section 140 Confidentiality
This section is foremost important for clients as they impart vital information to members in
order to perform variety of competent services requiring skills and capabilities (Stuchbery, 2017).
Confidentiality means that information should not be made available to anybody except member who is
under legal duty to carry out work with information. Moreover, it is essentially required to build strong
trust among public that information is kept confidential without any undue influence by others.
Disclosure should not be made to third parties and as such, confidentiality may be kept leading to having
stronger trust of public and thus, it can be said through APES 110 code of ethics, professional members
can easily deliver the services so that clients may be satisfied quite effectually.
Section 150 Professional Behaviour
This section having imposed obligations on member states that all individuals shall comply with
relevant regulations and should not knowingly make any conduct which may discredit their profession
and if they do so, then development of trust among public could not be strengthened towards them.
Professional behaviour should be carried out by all members and any circumstances that would affect
good reputation of accountants' profession should be avoided. This will promote and build trust among
employing organisation or clients and they may be attracted to avail services in the best possible
manner (Anderson & Hedges, 2017). Moreover, while marketing their work, they should not disrepute
profession by making exaggerated claims regarding services or experience gained in field and should not
compare work with others. Thus, trust towards accounting profession may be strengthened in public as
ethical principles are followed.
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CONCLUSION
Hereby, it can be concluded that accounting plays a crucial role in organisation as overall health
of organisation is accomplished by preparing financials. APES 110 governed by APESB Board outlines
variety of principles offered to professionals so that code of ethics must be followed while carrying out
their work. The outcomes from report generated refers that members are imposed with several
obligations so as to promote objectivity and professional competence as well as due care so that clients
may be able to avail services and thus, trust in them may get strengthened.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Anderson, H. L., & Hedges, J. (2017). Catching Pre-Insolvency Advisors: The Hidden Culprits of Illegal
Phoenix Activity.
Caratti, S., & et.al., (2018). An analysis of the Tax Practitioners Board outsourcing exposure draft. Tax
Specialist. 21(3). 106.
Chaplin, S. (2017). Accounting Education and the Prerequisite Skills of Accounting Graduates: Are
Accounting Firms’ Moving the Boundaries?. Australian Accounting Review. 27(1). 61-70.
Khovrak, I., & Kozyarchuk, T. (2018). The impact of auditor’s ethics on the quality of auditing the
company's cash flows.Technology audit and production reserves. 1(4 (39)). 4-8.
Mladenovic, R., Martinov-Bennie, N., & Bell, A. (2017). Business students’ insights into their
development of ethical decision-making. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-13.
Stuchbery, T. V. (2017). The Reporting Entity Concept in Australia: An Exploration of the Impact and
Comparison to International Standards (Bachelor's thesis, Università Ca'Foscari Venezia).
Online
Compiled APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. (2017). [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.apesb.org.au/uploads/standards/apesb_standards/20092017153656_Compiled_A
PES_110_Sept17.pdf>.
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