Ethics for West Virginia CPAs – 4 Hours

Most state boards of accountancy have written the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct into their own regulations or adopted an equivalent of their own, which makes the Code a licensing matter and not only a professional one. This course takes CPAs practicing in West Virginia through the Code as it currently stands.

It opens by locating the Code’s authority: what the AICPA can and cannot do when a member violates it, where a state board’s reach extends further — to firms, to non-licensee owners, to CPA-inactives — and the governing rule that where two sets of requirements overlap, the more restrictive one applies. From there it works through the enforceable rules for members in public practice: integrity and objectivity, conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, acts discreditable, contingent fees, commissions and referral fees, advertising, confidential information, and the form of organization and name rule. A separate treatment covers members in business.

The course also addresses responding to noncompliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR) — what falls inside the definition and what does not, the steps required of a member performing an audit or review, and when withdrawal becomes necessary. Recent and pending interpretations are covered, including attest engagement fees, fee dependency, and the replaced interpretation on simultaneous employment with an attest client. Three appendices supply worked material on conflicts of interest, a completed conceptual framework worksheet, and management responsibilities.

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