- Staff publication provides thought leadership on the ethical implications of emerging technologies used in the accountancy profession today.
- Characteristic-based approach identifies how emerging technologies may create or amplify ethical threats to the IESBA Code’s fundamental principles.
- Additional technology-related guidance will follow, with the next publication addressing artificial intelligence.
The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has released a new publication, Emerging Technologies: A Characteristics-Based Approach to Ethical Considerations for Professional Accountants, to support professional accountants as they develop, implement, or use emerging technologies in public practice and business.
The publication provides timely thought leadership by offering an overview of the ethical implications of emerging technologies commonly used across the accountancy profession, including artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies, machine learning, quantum computing, and robotic process automation. Rather than focusing only on individual technologies, the guidance takes a durable, characteristic-based approach designed to remain relevant as technologies continue to evolve.
The guidance enumerates key characteristics associated with emerging technologies – such as opacity, non-determinism, dependence on data, perpetual adaptivity, autonomy, scalability, and speed – and explains how they may create or amplify threats to compliance with the fundamental principles in the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards). These fundamental principles include integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behavior.
The publication emphasizes that, regardless of the level of automation or technological sophistication involved, professional accountants remain responsible for the judgments and decisions made in their work. It also underscores the importance of applying the Code’s conceptual framework with an inquiring mind, professional judgment, and appropriate human oversight when evaluating technology-driven outputs. It further highlights that maintaining professional competence and due care in an environment of rapidly evolving technologies requires an ongoing commitment to continuous learning and the development of appropriate technological literacy.
This staff publication marks the beginning of a sequence of future technology-related guidance for accountants. The IESBA plans to complement the characteristic-based publication with more practical, technology-specific materials, with the first such guidance expected to focus on AI.
Based on input from Staff of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the publication highlights links to the parallel work that the IAASB is undertaking on Technology Quality Management. The IESBA will continue to coordinate with the IAASB regarding its technology-related activities to reinforce the connectivity and interoperability of the IESBA Code with the IAASB’s quality management and engagement standards.
For more information on IESBA’s technology-related work, please visit our website.
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