Atsushi Kato is a former member and Vice-Chair of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) and a former Partner at PwC, Japan. He has been a public member International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA, the Ethics Board) since 2014. 

What made you interested in serving on the Ethics Board?

AK: I am very excited to have the opportunity to serve as a member of the IESBA for a number of reasons. First, the board has a very significant and important responsibility to serve the public interest, and I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to that. Secondly, though I’ve been involved in setting accounting and auditing standards for 35 years or so, what I have done in the past was very detailed and precise, focusing on rules for specific standards such as financial instruments, inventories, taxes, revenue recognition, etc. The IESBA Code is different in that it is principles based, and therefore, more high level. So, for me, it feels fresh and new, and that excites me.

What particular perspectives or experiences do you bring to the board as a public member?

AK: I have a pretty unique background with a broad variety of professional experience. I worked as a professional accountant in practice with PwC for 35 years. I also have experience as a professional accountant in business; before working forPwC I was a consultant for several years. As I mentioned already, I was deeply involved in setting accounting and auditing standards for a long period of time. Currently, I am in a very independent situation; I don’t belong to any organizations at all, which is what will enable me to contribute to the IESBA as a public board member and to serve the public interest from an independent standpoint.

Your term with the IESBA began in January 2014, and you have already attended several board meetings this year. What are your impressions of the board so far?

AK: I’ve been very impressed by the liveliness of the discussions and the active level of participation from all of the board members. The discussions have been very constructive, and there is a very positive atmosphere at the meetings. I was also very impressed that on significant matters under consideration, the chairman of the Board asked the board members to vote yes or no. It was very clear, and very transparent. It was different from our process in Japan, where we don’t normally ask the members to vote yes, no. This allowed the chairman to be able to generally gauge whether the feeling in the room was positive or negative, and decisions could be made without 100% consensus. Not only was it clear, but it allowed for a very transparent and decisive decision-making process. 

A distinguishing mark of the accountancy profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest. What does this mean to you?

AK: As members of the IESBA, each one of us must commit to act in the public interest, which means that we should not represent the views of our nominating organization—in my case, the Japanese Institute of CPAs—and also our jurisdiction—in my case, Japan. However, acting independently is easier said than done. In fact, our culture is probably ingrained in us in ways that we don’t even realize.

Not only that but in order to achieve convergence between the IESBA Code and the Japanese ethics standard, I have to consider the circumstances in Japan, in order to make sure it is possible, given local laws and customs, to apply the principles of the Code in Japan. I think that it’s about balance between the global and the local; I have to balance working independently of any organization or jurisdiction while representing Japan and its circumstances, so that I can raise any issues that would hinder or prevent convergence between the Japanese standard and the global one.

I think that all the board members probably struggle with this as we all come from different parts of the world and each has his or her own culture, business practices, and mindset.  

What pressures or challenges do accounting professionals face today in terms of acting ethically?

AK: Unfortunately, major accounting and auditing scandals continue to occur in Japan and around the world, even after the Enron scandal. In some cases, the credibility of the auditor’s report has been called into question by the users of this information. These high-profile scandals may also cause some to question the ethics of accounting professionals.

However, many are taking steps to improve audit quality and that is a positive development. For example, earlier this year in April, the European Parliament approved a proposed Directive mandating firm rotation, which is intended to improve the quality of the statutory audit in Europe. I think this shows that they recognize that there are some problems in accounting/auditing, and that there is room for improvement in terms of audit quality. It shows that concrete steps have been taken by Europe to introduce changes to address this.

Of course, at this point, it’s unclear whether firm rotation will improve audit quality as intended. I think that a parent company and its subsidiaries using different auditors could cause other problems. In my opinion, if mandatory firm rotation is systematically and successfully introduced in Europe, then the same system should be introduced in the US and around the world, otherwise, there will just be more confusion.

Right now the board has a somewhat related project on its agenda—and this is a project that looks at partner rotation as a way to safeguard against threats arising from long association with a client. At this point in time, it is difficult to predict whether the move by the European Parliament will influence our activities or not. It is an area that we are watching closely.

What do you see as the key factors influencing the development of global ethics standards in the future?

AK: I think the most important thing in developing a global ethics Code is recognizing that different ethical norms do exist—between organizations, industries, and countries. Even though now everything is globalized, including economies and business practices, and so on, there are still differences among different organizations, industries, and countries. So the way that a professional accountant operates in different environments should also be different. The important thing is--as I said before--to maintain a balance between local and global. We as board members should have a mutual understanding of different business practices and cultures around the world. By having that mutual understanding, we can develop a very strong global ethics standard, which can be implemented in all the jurisdictions of the world.

About the “We Are IESBA” Series
The purpose of this series is to bring the work of the IESBA to life, adding context and color to the people who carry out the activity of ethics standard setting for the international accountancy profession. The series aims to further increase the transparency of the board’s activities. Transparency is written into the board’s due process, and indeed, into its operations. The IESBA’s agenda papers and meetings are public (you can register to attend and observe any meeting, or listen to meetings and summaries via our iTunes channel). To learn more about the board, follow along via Twitter and email: Follow @Ethics_Board and subscribe to IESBA eNews. For additional developments related to ethics and other areas of the profession, subscribe to topics from the Global Knowledge Gateway.

James Gaa is a Professor of Accounting at the University of Alberta (Canada) and has been a public member of International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA, the Ethics Board) since 2010.

What made you interested in serving on the Ethics Board?

JG: I’ve been aware of the Ethics Board for a number of years. Their meetings are open to the public so I attended a meeting as an observer in the late ‘90s or so. Also as an academic—I teach accounting and ethics at the University of Alberta—I felt a responsibility to be engaged with the profession, which I’ve tried to do over the years. I’ve been involved with one of the member bodies in Canada and served as a member of its Board, and I was a member of the International Accounting Standards Committee, the predecessor of the International Accounting Standards Board, in the late ‘90s. So I’ve been involved with the profession for many years. Joining the Ethics Board was a natural progression. I also find the international and cross-cultural aspects of it really interesting.

What particular perspectives or experiences do you bring to the board as a public member?

JG: All members are obligated and agree to act in the public interest and not in the interest of any one segment of society. As an academic and public member, I’ve never worked as an accountant. That can be both a strength and a weakness, but it allows me to bring a different perspective to the board. Everyone is biased to some extent, so of course I bring mine as well. But, I hope it is a more disinterested point of view. I think that’s an important thing.

I’m trying to encourage the board to apply more of a research base to our standard-setting process. One of the limitations of the Board is resources, but if we can leverage members of the academic community to support our efforts by providing reviews of research or analyses, that would be very helpful to us. Increased interaction with the academic community is part of our strategy and work plan for the future, so it’s a visible and fairly prominent initiative of the board moving forward. I have had some discussions with organizations in the academic community to determine their interest. So far I have talked to several groups, and they are very interested, so I think it will gain some traction.

Since you became a member, how has your view of the Ethics Board and its work changed? Has serving on IESBA been what you expected?

JG: I think my basic view of the Board has not really changed, but it has developed. I’ve been impressed with how challenging the work is. It’s intellectually challenging, and the cultural differences that come to the Board is something I have come to appreciate even more. I had had experience with that through the International Accounting Standards Committee, but I think it’s fair to say that the cultural differences are more suppressed when you are dealing with accounting standards than when we’re talking about ethics.

I have also been very impressed with the other members of the Board. Their hard work and their abilities, their perceptions—it is a really impressive group that I’m privileged to be a member of.

A distinguishing mark of the accountancy profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest. What does this mean to you?

JG: Part of it is what I was just saying about being a public member—that is, having sort of a disinterested, more neutral point of view and trying to bring that to the table. As a concept, the public interest is almost impossible to define. IFAC and the Ethics Board have tried. And there is much literature in the sociology profession that tries to define the public interest. I think it defies definition partly because it probably means a number of different things. But one thing it means is to try to separate out our deliberations from the private interests of specific sectors of the economy, occupations, industries, or companies. So to me, it means not favoring any one group or any one segment.

That’s a big challenge with international standards. Because there is so much diversity in the world of occupations and national interests, and cultural differences and so on, to somehow represent all of that in our setting of standards, and then, therefore, in the standards themselves, is a real challenge. One of the ways we address these differences is by basing the Code on principles, rather than rules, so that it can be applied in any jurisdiction, regardless of local regulation and custom.

For instance, the task force for Part C of the Code, dealing with professional accountants in business, is grappling with this in its work around inducements, gifts, and bribes. Clearly there are cultural differences about what is acceptable behavior from one place to the next. Gifts are especially challenging, for example, what is a gift, and what does giving a gift or receiving a gift imply about peoples’ relationships, and so on? And, how can we factor that diversity into writing a standard? Or do we?

At our meeting in October, we finalized an Exposure Draft that will be looking at two issues: fair and honest reporting and intentional manipulation of information, and pressure imposed on professional accountants and imposed by them on others to breach the fundamental principles of the Code. The Exposure Draft will be open for comment from mid-November 2014 at the board’s website—www.ethicsboard.org. We welcome public comment from all interested individuals and organizations.

What pressures or challenges do accounting professionals face today in terms of acting ethically?

JG: I think there is more demand on people’s time and attention. I think that’s important, because assessing the ethical dimension of a person’s behavior requires being reflective and thoughtful. And to the extent time demands are higher, it could restrict people’s ability to consider their situation, and assess aspects of what is going on with their job.

Another major challenge is the increase in regulatory oversight, which presents challenges and pressures, but is a fact of life. Clearly, there is a social demand for more regulation of business and professions. And that’s not going to change anytime soon, I don’t think.

But back to this issue of bribes and corruption, there has been, in the last few years, increasing attention to this kind of thing. The laws are changing around the world about what kinds of payments or inducements can be given without violating laws. So the social norms around the world on that particular issue are changing rapidly.

To what extent do you think that the board’s work will be influenced by the laws and the regulations and the pace at which they are changing?

JG: That’s a really good question because an ethics code is more than just “don’t do anything illegal,” because then our Code could be very short. It could be one sentence long. People generally recognize that a code of ethics is different from a legal code. The Code holds accountants to a higher standard than the legal standard in their jurisdiction. But with the laws and regulations changing over time, how we respond to or even lead the thinking on those issues is very important. As the laws change, the Code has to reflect, and I think will reflect, the current, generally accepted world view on the issue.

What do you see as the key factors influencing the development of global ethics standards in the future?

JG: I think one of the factors is more attention and interest in regulatory oversight and legal requirements. That impacts the Code, of course, and the Ethics Board. It also increases our visibility and the importance of demonstrating our commitment to the public interest.

About the “We Are IESBA” Series
The purpose of this series is to bring the work of the IESBA to life, adding context and color to the people who carry out the activity of ethics standard setting for the international accountancy profession. The series aims to further increase the transparency of the board’s activities. Transparency is written into the board’s due process, and indeed, into its operations. The IESBA’s agenda papers and meetings are public (you can register to attend and observe any meeting, or listen to meetings and summaries via our iTunes channel). To learn more about the board, follow along via Twitter and email: Follow @Ethics_Board and subscribe to IESBA eNews. For additional developments related to ethics and other areas of the profession, subscribe to topics from the Global Knowledge Gateway.

Highlights from the IESBA's January 12-14, 2015, meeting in London, UK.

00:06 Introduction

00:43 Opening Remarks from IESBA Chair Stavros Thomadakis

2:30 Non-Assurance Services 

4:07 Long Association

6:33 Part C (Professional Accountants in Business)

8:48 Structure of the Code

10:55 Safeguards

13:48 Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations

18:42 Conclusions/Next Meeting

Professor Jens Poll became a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) in January 2018 and retired from the Board in 2023. He was nominated by the Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (WPK) and the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW).

He serves as Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair in several medium-sized companies with global activities. He also teaches law and regulation at the University of Ulm and is, inter alia, Chair of the Commission on Quality Assurance at WPK and member of several committees of the IDW. He served as Managing Partner of a medium-sized accountancy and law firm for 20 years.

On an international level, he presently serves as independent Chair of the European Group of International Accounting Networks and Associations (EGIAN) and is board member of Accountancy Europe. He was a member and Vice Chair of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee and Technical Advisor for a former IESBA member.

Professor Poll holds professional degrees as public accountant, lawyer and tax advisor in Germany.

Dr. Stavros B. Thomadakis was appointed independent Chairman of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants beginning January 1, 2015.

Dr. Thomadakis is Emeritus Professor of financial economics at the University of Athens. For many years, he directed the University’s graduate program on applied finance, accounting and auditing, in cooperation with the Hellenic Institute of Chartered Accountants (IESOEL).

His research interests extend to issues of market regulation, standard setting, and other infrastructures for the governance of global markets, corporate governance in the private and public sectors, financial history, and the evolution of regulatory arrangements for markets and banks.

He was Chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission during the formative stages of the organization (1996-2004). He also chaired the IOSCO European Regional Committee during his tenure, and was the first Chairman of the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB, 2005-2011), which oversees the activities of the IESBA and other standard setters.

Dr. Thomadakis has been Chairman of the Board of the University of the Aegean and is an active member of the Hellenic Council for Corporate Governance. Until late 2015, he was also member of the Securities and Markets Stakeholders Group of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

He was educated at Yale and the Sloan School of Management, (MIT) from where he obtained his PhD. He has taught at US universities (Baruch College CUNY, MIT), and has been a visiting scholar at Stern School of Business, NYU, and Yale University. He has authored a number of scholarly books and articles.

• Interview in IS Chartered Accountant (November 2015)

Caroline Lee became a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) in January 2017. She was nominated by KPMG LLP, the Singapore registered member firm of the KPMG global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a private English company limited by guarantee (KPMG International).

Ms. Lee has over 30 years experience in the public accountancy profession, all with KPMG. She is a Partner at KPMG in Singapore and Asia Pacific Head of Quality & Risk Management. She is also a member of KPMG International's Global Quality & Risk Management Steering Group. Previously, she led the Risk Management and Ethics and Independence teams for KPMG in Singapore.

Ms. Lee is also a member of the Singapore Public Accountants Oversight Committee’s Ethics Committee since April 2019.

Ms. Lee is a Chartered Accountant and ISCA member. She has a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from the National University of Singapore.

El Dr. Stavros B. Thomadakis ha sido nombrado presidente del Consejo de Normas Internacionales de Ética para Contadores^® (IESBA^®, el Consejo de Ética), iniciando en enero 1, 2015 para un periodo de tres años. El nombramiento del Dr. Thomadakis ha sido aprobado por el Consejo de Supervisión del Interés Público* (PIOB).

La carrera profesional del Dr. Thomadakis incluye 40 años como profesor de economía financiera en la universidad de Atenas, la universidad City University de Nueva York y MIT, al igual que diferentes roles regulatorios y de supervisión. Stavros presenta familiaridad con el Consejo de Ética bajo la capacidad de supervisión, ya que laboró como primer presidente del PIOB de 2005 a 2011. Es miembro actual del Grupo de Stakeholders de los Mercados de Valores de la Autoridad Europea del Mercado de Valores.  Adicionalmente, ha presidido la Comisión de Mercado de Capitales de Grecia y el Comité Regional Europeo de la Organización Internacional de las Comisiones de Valores; es actualmente presidente del Consejo de la Universidad del Egeo.

Como presidente del Consejo de Ética, el Dr. Thomadakis liderará al Consejo en la implementación de su Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo, 2014-2018 recién publicada (ver más abajo). Una función clave del presidente es permitir y promover un entendimiento más profundo de las partes interesadas y el público sobre la estrategia y las actividades del Consejo de Ética. El presidente coordina igualmente los procesos deliberativos y consultativos del consejo; adicionalmente, desarrolla y mantiene relaciones efectivas con los reguladores, el preparador, el inversor y las comunidades de gobierno corporativo, los emisores de estándares nacionales, la profesión contable y otras partes interesadas claves.

"Los estándares de ética son una base de confianza en la profesión contable y son esenciales para cumplir con la responsabilidad de actuar en el interés público. Es un honor liderar el trabajo del Consejo de Ética. Ansío progresar en la agenda del Consejo y, particularmente, continuar con el programa extendido de participación iniciado por el presidente anterior, Jörgen Holmquist, cuya dedicación y liderazgo no serán olvidados," comentó el señor Thomadakis.

El Consejo de Ética emitió igualmente su Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo, 2014-2018. La publicación resalta las prioridades del consejo y las acciones planeadas para lograr el objetivo de la definición de estándares de ética de alta calidad para contadores profesionales que han sido ampliamente adoptados alrededor del mundo.

La Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo dispone temas estratégicos interconectados que articulan la visión del Consejo en el mediano y largo plazo:

• mantener un Código de Ética para Contadores Profesionales™ (el Código) de alta calidad para aplicación de los contadores profesionales a nivel global;
• promover y facilitar la adopción y la implementación efectiva del Código;
• desarrollar el Código para una relevancia continuada en un entorno global cambiante; y
• aumentar el compromiso y la cooperación con las partes interesadas.

"El Código ha sido adoptado o utilizado como base para los estándares de ética nacionales en más de 100 territorios alrededor del mundo. El fortalecimiento continuado del Código y el objetivo de dirigirnos hacia una mayor aceptación y convergencia global con el Código, es el punto fundamental de nuestra Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo a cinco años," resaltó el presidente delegado Wui San Kwok, agregando "lo más importante es que el Consejo está determinado, a través de la Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo, a reforzar la confianza pública en el Código y garantizar que continúa siendo relevante en el apoyo de diferentes roles vitales que desempeñan los contadores profesionales en el interés público."

La Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo fue desarrollado con aportes de un amplio rango de partes interesadas, incluyendo una encuesta de partes interesadas y un Documento de Consulta pública.

Para acceder a toda la Estrategia y Plan de Trabajo y conocer más acerca de los proyectos del Consejo, visitar la página web del Consejo de Ética: www.ethicsboard.org.

*Nota a los Editores

El Consejo de Supervisión del Interés Público (PIOB) fue establecido en febrero de 2005 a fin de garantizar que los estándares internacionales de auditoría y aseguramiento, ética y educación para la profesión contable sean definidos de manera transparente, reflejando el interés público. El objetivo del PIOB es potenciar la confianza de los inversores y demás, estableciendo que dichas actividades, incluyendo la definición de estándares del IESBA, responden adecuadamente al interés público. Los miembros del PIOB son nominados por instituciones internacionales y entes regulatorios.

Acerca del IESBA
El Consejo de Normas Internacionales de Ética para Contadores (IESBA) es un consejo independiente de emisión de normas que desarrolla y emite -en el interés público- normas de ética de alta calidad y demás declaraciones para los contadores profesionales alrededor del mundo. A través de sus actividades, el IESBA desarrolla el Código de Ética para Contadores Profesionales, el cual establece los requerimientos éticos para contadores profesionales. Las estructuras y los procesos que soportan las operaciones del IESBA son facilitados por la IFAC. Visita la página www.ethicsboard.org para mayor información, y síguenos en Twitter @Ethics_Board.

Acerca de la IFAC^®
IFAC es la organización global para la profesión contable, dedicada a servir el interés público a través del fortalecimiento de la profesión y contribuir en el desarrollo de economías internacionales sólidas. La IFAC se compone de 179 miembros y asociados en 130 países y territorios, representando aproximadamente a 2,5 millones de contadores en la práctica pública, la educación, el gobierno, la industria y el comercio.

Caroline Gardner is the Auditor General for Scotland and has been a public member of International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA, the Ethics Board) since 2010.

What made you interested in serving on the Ethics Board?

CG: I was serving as the president of CIPFA [The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountants], in 2006 when we adopted the IESBA’s Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants [the Code]. As president, I had the opportunity to lead our adoption of the code and to talk with many of our members about why ethics matters. I’ve had a particular interest in ethics since then.

What particular perspectives or experiences do you bring to the board as a public member?

CG: As a public member, I’m even more aware of the importance of making sure the board’s decisions, and the implications of the board’s decisions, truly further the public interest as much as possible. Because I’ve worked in public service for most of my career and I currently serve as Auditor General for Scotland, I have a very clear sense of the importance of ethics in government and public services. I understand the way decisions are made and that the perception of good ethical conduct is very important. I try to bring that perspective, keeping that sense of the public interest first and foremost, into my work both with the board and as Auditor General.

Since you became a member, how has your view of the Ethics Board and its work changed? Has serving on IESBA been what you expected?

CG: I’d highlight two changes since joining the board in 2010. First of all, the aftermath of the global financial crisis, and various other corporate failures, has heightened my sense of the importance of ethics. What they show is the damage that can be done, not just to the investors in those companies, but more widely.

Second, it’s become clear to me that the public interest isn’t a straightforward thing. Good ethical conduct is often very complex and can sometimes require difficult tradeoffs. For example, I am currently chairing the task force that is addressing what professional accountants should do if they come across a suspected illegal act [now called non-compliance with laws and regulations, or NOCLAR]. In these situations, professional accountants are put in a very difficult position—trying to balance the fundamental principles, particularly confidentiality in this case, with serving the wider public interest by reporting a potentially illegal act—and it’s not always clear which action is the right one. This project has shown me that professional accountants are often faced with very complex decisions, which they do not take lightly, and they need support in making the best decision they can.

A distinguishing mark of the accountancy profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest. What does this mean to you?

CG: As professional accountants we need to recognize that we are required to really think through the consequences of our professional conduct and decisions, not just for ourselves and our own financial interests or those of our colleagues or employer, but much more widely than that. We have to consider who else might be affected by our decisions. And, depending on what role we play as professional accountants that group may vary. It could well include the investing public, the suppliers and customers of the companies that we work for, or the wider, general public when we talk about accountants in health and safety or employment practice. Holding that very broad frame of reference in mind, and considering the effects our actions will have, is very much a part of the challenge of what it means to act in the public interest. It’s also a key part of what makes us valuable as a profession—to be trusted to take that wider perspective, and not just think about our own immediate personal or professional interests.

What pressures or challenges do accounting professionals face today in terms of acting ethically?

CG: I think the real challenges come from two pervasive factors that we all have to deal with: First, the world that we’re operating in continues to become more and more complex, and we need to look at some of the complex judgments and strategic decisions that auditors and professional accountants have to make every day. Technology and environmental considerations are some of the drivers of this complexity that are making it more difficult to ensure that we’re acting ethically. For instance, we might be able to make profits from manufacturing goods in the short term, but they will have a damaging effect on the environment in the long term, so emissions and overall carbon footprint are the sort of things we have to take into consideration, in addition to the financial.

Second, I think that in the wake of the financial crisis, the public and regulatory expectations of the profession are continuing to increase. Things that were considered acceptable in the past are no longer seen as acceptable. And when things go wrong, people are more and more likely to ask questions about what the professional accountant or the auditor is doing. I think this raises the stakes for acting ethically at all times. At the same time as I said before, our complex environment means that ethical dilemmas are becoming more prevalent, so making the most ethical decision is becoming more challenging.

What do you see as the key factors influencing the development of global ethics standards in the future?

CG: I think the biggest challenge for us is to first of all not just respond to but lead the way in meeting public expectations for where the ethics of the profession ought to be—that expectation for greater transparency and a greater willingness to put personal/professional interests to one side in the name of the public interest, and to do that in a world where there is still a great deal of difference between the local legislative, regulatory, and cultural environments.

Again, if I think about the project that I’m working on [NOCLAR], there are huge differences from country to country. Some jurisdictions are already very clear on the requirement to report breaches of laws and regulations to the appropriate authority, and it’s very straightforward in that sort of environment. But in other jurisdictions where the laws are not clear on this issue or where people don’t have confidence that the existing laws will work properly or that whistleblowers will be properly protected, it’s much more difficult for the board to play its part.

So I think the challenge is seeing the Code as part of a wider system of laws and regulations, and developing it in a way that is really leading expectations of ethical conduct while recognizing that it can’t be a substitute for an effective legal and regulatory framework, good judicial processes, and a culture where ethical behavior is expected. It’s a fine balance for us to get right.

Earlier this year, we had three very successful global roundtables on non-compliance with laws and regulations to get additional input from various key stakeholders, such as regulatory bodies like the IOSCO, the investing community, and the international corporate governance network. This sort of outreach is critical to helping us understand the various environments and may set a new precedent for our standard-setting activity in the future.

About the “We Are IESBA” Series
The purpose of this series is to bring the work of the IESBA to life, adding context and color to the people who carry out the activity of ethics standard setting for the international accountancy profession. The series aims to further increase the transparency of the board’s activities. Transparency is written into the board’s due process, and indeed, into its operations. The IESBA’s agenda papers and meetings are public (you can register to attend and observe any meeting, or listen to meetings and summaries via our iTunes channel). To learn more about the board, follow along via Twitter and email: Follow @Ethics_Board and subscribe to IESBA eNews. For additional developments related to ethics and other areas of the profession, subscribe to topics from the Global Knowledge Gateway.

Now there are more ways to access the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants™ (the Code) developed by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants^® (IESBA^®, the Ethics Board). The newly released, web-based 2014 Code is designed to provide enhanced access and greater ease of use and navigation.

“Digital is now the preferred medium of communication. It is also how the tech-savvy world today will want to access and use the wealth of materials produced by the board. The board intends to move with the times, technologically,” said interim IESBA Chair Wui San Kwok. “The board will continue to look at ways to utilize the immense technological possibilities in making the Code and other board materials more accessible and usable, including enhancing research, link, and filter functionalities.”

Key features of the web-based Code include the ability to:

• Find relevant pages and sections using a powerful keyword search;
• Display definitions of key terms within the text;  
• Navigate sequentially or by using the interactive table of contents; and
• Access previous editions and links to translations, most of which are hosted on third-party sites.

Related to the new platform, the IESBA is currently consulting on ways to improve the structure and delivery of the Code. Additional features may be incorporated into the platform in the future. See the Consultation Paper released earlier this month, and submit your comments by February 4, 2015.

Users can continue to purchase print copies of the Code, or download or print it from the Ethics Board’s website: www.ethicsboard.org.  

About the IESBA
The IESBA develops ethics standards and other pronouncements for professional accountants worldwide under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IESBA, and the IESBA Consultative Advisory Group, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and other pronouncements. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IESBA are facilitated by IFAC. Please visit www.ethicsboard.org for more information, and follow us on Twitter @Ethics_Board.

About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of over 175 members and associates in 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.