Ethics for Rhode Island CPAs – 6 Hours

Independence is the longest and most consequential part of the AICPA Code, and it is where most CPAs get into difficulty. This course covers the Code in full for CPAs licensed in Rhode Island, with substantial attention to the independence rules and how they apply in practice.

It establishes first who is bound: what makes someone a covered member, which two categories of relationship impair independence even for those who are not, and why a compilation does not require independence while an audit or review does. It then works through the interpretations in turn — financial interests direct and indirect, loans and leases, business and family relationships, simultaneous and former employment with an attest client, actual or threatened litigation, network firms, and the nonattest services that pose a self-review threat no safeguard can reduce. Unpaid fees, attest engagement fee determination, and the five-consecutive-year fee dependency rule are each addressed, along with what to do when an independence interpretation has already been breached.

Underpinning all of it is the conceptual framework: identify the threat, weigh its significance against what a reasonable and informed third party would conclude, apply safeguards, then evaluate whether those safeguards actually worked. The course sets out all seven threat categories with the Code’s own examples, distinguishes the safeguards available to a firm from those available to an employer, and includes a completed framework worksheet. Earlier chapters cover ethical reasoning, professional codes, and how corporate culture shapes individual conduct.

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