Ethics in Professional Accountancy

This assignment examines the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. It explores the importance of ethical practices in accountancy for generating public interest through transparency and adherence to professional standards. The analysis delves into various threats to ethical conduct (self-interest, advocacy, intimidation, self-review, familiarity) and the conceptual framework of safeguards employed to mitigate these threats. Finally, the assignment concludes by emphasizing the significance of ethical codes not only for clients but also for professionals themselves in evaluating accounting information.

Essay 1
Ethics: APES 110 Code of Professional Ethics in Accounting

Essay 2
Introduction
This essay is developed to understand the ethical practices concerned to the code of practices that are
adopted by the Australian Accounting Standard Board for the professional accountants too follow in
relation to generate public interest and confidentiality. It also includes the evaluation of APES 110 Code
which is also crucial to strengthen the ethical standard that should also be followed by the professional
practitioners under the CPA Australia.

Essay 3
Approach of APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants
Accounting profession is significant to influence the confidence of public through delivering the valuable
service to the clients. It is also stated that the public values can also be created by ethics and
transparency because everyone wants to have the actual information with her to characterize and
promote the standard corporate governance.
Figure: Perception of Public Value
(Source: Cpaaustralia, 2014)
Australian accountancy board is lined up with the follow of rules and regulation in order to develop the
public confidence and approach to the interest of the same for CPA members. Ethical codes are
developed by the top Australian bodies such as APESB, which is responsible for the issuing of ethical
codes that are adopted by the accounting members in order to attract the general public towards the
fair and ethical accounting practices (Smsfsuperauditors, 2012). At the same time, these codes are
applicable to the all Australian CPA members who are working in domestic or overseas county under
which they are required to follows the ethical practices to make more approachable the accounting
standards at global level. Basically these codes are issued by the accounting body as International Ethics
Standard Board for Accountants, to guide and impose the practice of ethical standards so that member
should easily aware and protect the interest of public and make the public more without biasness and
undue influence of the another member or outside people and gimped to unethical practice.
ACA is also an ethical accounting body that also enforces the member to ensure the ethical practice and
follow the fundamental principles to comply the professional members for not to indulge into the illicit
activity and may distort the professional regulation (Apesb, 2017). It is also stated that these ethical

Essay 4
compliance and practices are supposed to safeguard the public interest so that it can maintain the
relationship with the general public in relation to have faith in accounting professional and people can
believe over the practices of professional accountants. These codes are amended time to time to include
the fair judgment and provide the assured engagement of CPA member in public interest. These codes
are very important to evaluate the conducts of professional member over their accounting practices and
take an effective decision to imposed the code of ethical denomination or the decision related to the
discipline are also made by the accounting supreme body (Psc, 2016). Along with this, the behavior of
member is assessed over the particular standards as any client complaint against the professional those
have not follow the accounting regulation and the client is not happy with the process of member than
the accounting body may impose the disciplinary duty to so that the member can comply with these
standards. As it is also endowed that the professional accountants are playing imminent role and major
contributor to the corporate governance practices that are fair and judgmental to carry out the
accounting process. With this, it is also known that many of accountants indulged into the malpractices
and support the corporate through showing the fruitful position of company so that the general public
can easily approach and prefer the particular business to attract towards the corporate performance
and be a part of the same, which is not good for the future contribution and it also melt down the brand
image of company which is not presented its financial activities in ethical manner. The ethical code are
inclined to the using “Shall” word that is the concern of essential that are needful for the member of the
firm. In respond to this, the member of Australian accounting board might be access over the practice of
unethical and misleading statement of information.
Major Principles of Code of Professional Ethics
Principles are the outline, on basis of these the code is practiced and implemented over the
professionals of accounting. APES has issued the principles of code so that the ethical practices are easily
assessed in order to maintain the relationship by members with the general public. Major principles of
ethical codes are as follows
Integrity: It is aimed that the professional should be honest and straightforward in their possession or
profession so that the general public could not be harmed and public interest can created positively. At
the same time, it also allows to follow the rules and regulation in professional manner not out of that so
it can rely through standards of professional ethics.
Due Care and Professional Competence: Accountant should have the professional knowledge and skills
that the client wants to ensure the adequate presentation of financial information in relation to

Essay 5
generate competence and legislation should also be followed diligently so the desired solution can be
provided to the perspective client (Apesb, 2010).
Confidentiality: Confidentiality is another principle that requires the security and protection of
information to which not to share with the third party without any consent of the firm’s management.
Disclosing the confidential information by professional accountant influence the public not to believe
over the members due to the safety concern of the crucial information related to the firm that might
distort the expectations of client (Apesb, 2010).
Objectivity: It is also important principle for code of professional ethics that allow the accountants to
not to create biasness due to the undue influence to the client.
Professional Behavior: Professional behavior is also important for the members to deliver satisfactory
level service to the client.
The code of APES 110 is basically concerned to the integrity of professional accountants that advice to
that the member should deal in fair and judgment basis and malpractices should not be, for this the
member himself would be responsible to disclose the entire information to the client about the further
process and confer the better service according to the professional ethics. With this, omitted and
misleading information should also not be treated because of the personal benefits would affect the
general public that the false information is also judged by the professional accountants and code of
ethics are not followed. APES 110 code is applicable from July 1, 2011 in relation to the previous codes
of professional ethics and it is issued up to the November 2013 (Cheffers and Pakaluk, 2007). Along with
this, it is declared over the corporation act 2001for the purpose of review the audit and enforceable to
impose the legality over the members and firms also. The major responsibility of the accountant is to
determine the public interest and not behave by unprofessional practices otherwise the authority body
would impose the legal obligation in order to pose over the misleading statement or information
presentation. APES 110 are preamble to the Australian Accounting Standard (Icaew, 2017). This code is
concerned to the maintaining the relationship with client and professional accountants but it is argued
that these codes are not adequate to develop the moral obligations with respect to the ethical
measurement of service. It is also assessed that there is a positive relationship between the attitude of
client and professionals. This code involves the member those are working with the auditing and
registering schemes for the client. On the other hand, the issues are also arising due to the increasing
profit for the business and both client and professional indulged into the bad conduct through showing
the misleading financial information.

Essay 6
Conceptual framework shall be inclined to the determination of threats and also find out the importance
of threats, with this, safeguards are also applied to the codes structure to prevent the activities that
become threats and minimize the perspective threats by a relevant process (Publicaccountants, 2013).
Variant threats arise due to the self interest, advocacy threats, intimidation threats, self review threats
and familiarity threats. On the other hand, the conceptual framework of codes is fall into as protection
measures provided by the regulation and professionals in order to deliver the valuable service to the
public. With this, an environmental base safeguard framework through which the practical evidence
base compliance is set out to develop the interest aspect of general public.

Essay 7
Conclusion
On the basis of above analysis of APES 110 code of professional ethics, it can be analyzed that the ethical
practices are also important in accountancy because of the generation of public interest through
transparency and following the codes of conduct of ethical rules and regulation by the professional
accountants. On the other hand, it can also be stated that the only codes not derive the significant value
to the clients; their perspective to assess the practical review of the accounting information might also
be supportive.

Essay 8
References
Apesb, (2010). APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Retrieved from:
http://www.apesb.org.au/uploads/standards/apesb_standards/standardc1.pdf
Apesb, (2017). APESB issues amendments to APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
Retrieved from:
http://www.apesb.org.au/uploads/standards/technical_update/30052017102512_TU_2017_2_NOCLAR
_NAS_Amendments_APES_110_May_2017_Final.pdf
Cpaaustralia, (2014). AN OVERVIEW OF APES 110 CODE OF ETHICS FOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS.
Retrieved from: https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/~/media/corporate/allfiles/document/professional-
resources/ethics/an-overview-of-apes-110-code-of-ethics.pdf?la=en
Icaew, (2017). Code of Ethics A. Retrieved from: http://www.icaew.com/membership/regulations-
standards-and-guidance/ethics/code-of-ethics-a
Psc, (2016). RELEVANCE AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS IN 2026. Retrieved from:
http://www.psc.gov.au/sites/default/files/Relevance%20and%20Prof%20Associations%20in
%202026.pdf#page=95
Publicaccountants, (2013). Compiled APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Retrieved
from: https://www.publicaccountants.org.au/media/711182/APES-110.pdf
Smsfsuperauditors, (2012). APES 110: Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Fact Sheet. Retrieved
from: https://www.smsfsuperauditors.com.au/APES-110-fact-sheet.pdf
Cheffers, M. and Pakaluk, M. (2007). Understanding Accounting Ethics - 2nd Edition. USA: Allen David
Press.