ICJCE Interview with IESBA Chair Jörgen Holmquist This article first appeared in Auditores, the magazine of the Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España (ICJCE), the professional body in Spain and a member of IFAC. Why is the IESBA considering a review of the structure of its Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code)? Well, we have heard from a number of stakeholders, particularly small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) and professional accountants working in small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs), about the challenges they face in understanding and applying the requirements in the Code. Let’s be clear—the Code contains robust standards on ethics for the accounting profession. But after years of evolution, the Code has become a complex set of standards, with sections that contain long paragraphs and sentences that many find difficult to understand and translate. At the same time, we have heard from our regulatory stakeholders about the need to increase the visibility of the requirements and prohibitions in the Code, and to clarify who is responsible for meeting them, in order to facilitate enforcement. So we are responding to the concerns by taking a fresh look at the structure of the Code to see if there are ways to enhance its readability, understandability, and accessibility, and assist in its enforcement. So, in essence, it is an effort at modernizing the Code. However, I must make clear that our initiative to review the structure of the Code is not intended to introduce changes to the basic principles and rules in the Code. While we are considering the feasibility of making the requirements and content of the Code more accessible, by different means, we are NOT planning any changes to the Code itself in the short term. The changes in the structure of the Code will be for the long term, after we have launched a full consultation and achieved buy-in from our stakeholders.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 04:13:34 +0000
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