Ethics for Maine CPAs – 4 Hours

Objectivity is the standard a CPA is measured against most often, and it is tested less by dramatic fraud than by ordinary pressure: a client on both sides of a matter, a supervisor who wants a different answer, an invitation that arrives a little too regularly. This course for CPAs practicing in Maine gives that ground the attention it deserves.

It works through the integrity and objectivity rule and each interpretation beneath it. Conflicts of interest: how to judge whether one exists, when disclosure and consent will resolve it, and when the only options left are declining the engagement or divesting the interest. Gifts and entertainment: the difference between a member who lacks integrity and one who lacks objectivity, and the factors that make an offer reasonable or not. Preparing and reporting information: what counts as knowingly misrepresenting facts, and the escalation path when a member and a supervisor disagree on an accounting treatment — discuss, escalate, document, and if nothing changes, reconsider the relationship, since resigning does not necessarily end the obligation. Client advocacy and the duty to tell a client before confidential information goes to a third-party service provider are covered as well.

The wider course sets this in context: ethical reasoning and the theories used to resolve dilemmas, corporate culture and its effect on individual conduct, the Code’s six principles, the conceptual framework of threats and safeguards, the independence rules, and the general standards. Examples and review questions run throughout.

Learning Objectives

After studying this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize ethical reasoning used by accountants
• Recognize the core principles within the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
• Identify the steps within the conceptual framework approach
• Recognize the indicators of impairment of independence
• Identify ethical standards and violations