INTHEBLACK September 2024 special edition - Flipbook - Page 6
ADVOCACY UPDATE
FIVE QUESTIONS
C PA A U S T R A L I A
Belinda Zohrab-McConnell is the regulation and
standards lead in policy and advocacy at CPA
Australia. An ethics expert, Zohrab-McConnell
began her career as a tax specialist and has worked
for accounting and law firms. She has also been a
university lecturer and worked as a curator for the
CPA Program and professional development at
CPA Australia. We ask her five key questions on the
state of play in ethics.
PHOTOGRAPHY MARCUS BAILEY
1. Why are ethics so important to the accounting
profession, particularly now?
Ethics are always important, but focus on it ebbs
and flows depending on events. Recent tax leaks
obviously brought professional behaviour and lack of
confidentiality to the fore.
However, we should always be highly attuned to
ethical situations. Brand reputation is so important –
your personal brand, your employer brand and the
accounting profession’s brand.
When I was teaching at university, I used to say to
my students, “If you think you don’t face ethical issues
in your career, you’re not paying attention”.
2. How should CPA Australia members comply
with ethical standards, and how does CPA
Australia support them?
The five key fundamental principles of the profession
are integrity, objectivity, professional competence and
due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour.
6 INTHEBLACK September 2024 SPECIAL EDITION
These are central tenets of the APES 110 Code of
Ethics for Professional Accountants, the starting point
for understanding your ethical responsibilities.
As a professional body, CPA Australia can
help accountants to maintain their professional
competence through professional development
products centred around ethics, which we offer free
of charge for members, such as Professional Ethics
in Focus. There is also a dedicated helpline and, for
public practitioners, a webinar on Firm Culture.
3. In what areas do people often make mistakes,
even unintentionally?
Ethics can be tricky. As opposed to the prescriptive
rules of accounting regulation or tax legislation, ethical
dilemmas can be subjective.
It is important to know your professional competence
and due care limits. We used to call it “staying in your
lane”, but sometimes it is difficult to know the margins
of your lane.
