- IESBA has launched a new five‑part Firm Culture and Governance Update series exploring why strong ethical culture and governance frameworks matter, and the practical challenges accounting firms face in implementing them.
- The series supports deeper stakeholder engagement as part of IESBA’s Firm Culture and Governance Project and its Dialogues Initiative.
- Through interviews, case studies, and IESBA Viewpoints, the series aims to broaden global discussion and gather insights that will shape the future direction of the project.
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has launched the Firm Culture and Governance Update, a new five‑part newsletter series dedicated to exploring the relevance – and the reality – of building strong ethical culture and governance within accounting firms.
As firms worldwide navigate growing complexity, heightened regulatory expectations, and increasing public scrutiny, culture and governance have become central to safeguarding trust in financial and non‑financial information and to supporting professional accountants in adhering to existing provisions in the IESBA Code of Ethics. This series aims to shine a light on those questions and gather meaningful insights from across the global ecosystem.
Over the coming months, the newsletter will feature:
- Perspectives from prominent leaders and experts in culture, governance, ethics, and management;
- Insights from firms piloting approaches to culture and governance;
- Highlights from IESBA’s Viewpoints which outline characteristics of eight key elements of a potential global framework for ethical firm culture; and
- Monthly updates on the engagement and ongoing discussions with stakeholders.
This month’s edition features Carmine Di Noia, Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the OECD; practical insights from PKF-CAP in Singapore shared by its Managing Partner Eng Kian Lee; and a window on work being developed by the IESBA project team.
Building Dialogues
The series forms part of the broader IESBA’s Firm Culture and Governance Dialogues Initiative.
As part of this initiative, IESBA started in-person engagement with stakeholders in Asia early 2026, while also “designing and preparing the dialogues we will be having with stakeholders, from representatives of small to large firms to investors and regulators” in the coming months, explains in the first edition of the newsletter Kam Leung, IESBA Director leading the project.
The Dialogues Initiative aims to raise awareness and stimulate discussion about the Firm Culture and Governance project so that IESBA can better understand how different stakeholders view the need, scope and design of a global baseline on firm ethical culture.
Subscribe to the series here.
About IESBA
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA’s mission is to serve the public interest by setting high-quality, international ethics (including independence) standards as a cornerstone to ethical behavior in business and organizations, and to public trust in financial and non-financial information that is fundamental to the proper functioning and sustainability of organizations, financial markets and economies worldwide.
Along with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the IESBA is part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit (IFEA). The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) oversees IESBA and IAASB activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards.
Contact Information:
Rui Peres Jorge
Director, Strategy and Communications
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA)
ruiperesjorge@ethicsboard.org | Direct: +351 966-301-383
Zsolt Bobis
Lead, Communications
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA)
zsoltbobis@ethicsboard.org