INTHEBLACK April 2026 - Magazine - Page 39
As AI reshapes accounting,
professionals must balance its
benefits with ethical responsibilities,
guided by longstanding codes
of conduct.
The profession requires a
balance between prescriptive
rules and principle-based
standards in order to address
emerging AI challenges.
Strong organisational culture,
open dialogue and leadership
commitment to values are
essential for ethical decisionmaking in an AI-driven future.
“WHAT WILL WE VALUE?”
ROUNDTABLE ATTENDEES
Wayne Stokes FCPA, non-executive director
at Port Authority of New South Wales and
chair of CPA Australia’s Ethics and Professional
Standards Centre of Excellence
Marsha Ma CPA, financial controller at
Australian Energy Market Commission
and a member of CPA Australia’s NSW
divisional council
values and purpose tested by this rapidly evolving
technology.
“People expect accountants to uphold the right
values in society,” said Canva strategy and operations
manager, Matthew D’Cruz CPA, at CPA Australia’s
recent “What will we value?” ethics and purpose
roundtable in Sydney. “We need to stay true to those
values, but also be flexible with the changing times.”
Matthew D’Cruz CPA, strategy and operations
manager at Canva
PRESCRIPTIVE VS PRINCIPLED STANDARDS
Benjamin Tse CPA, product manager
at Steadfast Group
Accounting has a solid bedrock of infrastructure,
its professional codes of conduct wrought over
many decades, to guide the way through AI’s evolving
ethical challenges. CPA Australia members must
comply with the Accounting Professional and Ethical
Standards Board’s Code of Ethics for Professional
Accountants, which runs into the hundreds of pages.
This document stipulates that accountants must
Belinda Zohrab, regulations and standards lead
at CPA Australia
Maggie Lo CPA, financial operations manager
at Employment Hero
Melissa Read FCPA, head of professional
standards at CPA Australia
Max Yatsuzuka CPA, senior accountant
at Forvis Mazars
Alexandra Cain, journalist
Tahn Sharpe, INTHEBLACK editor
at CPA Australia (host)
BOLD SIGNALS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 39
