Coming Soon
Expected availability announced soon
This course is in active development. Preview the scope below and create a free account to be notified the moment it goes live.
Continuing Education
Coming Soon
CE CPA Ethics CPE
The course teaches CPAs how to apply the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and Circular 230 to real‑world scenarios, covering independence, integrity, confidentiality, and fee rules to safeguard compliance and client trust.
Who Should Take This
It is intended for licensed CPAs who are actively maintaining their professional licenses and must meet mandatory CE requirements. Ideal participants are mid‑career accountants, tax advisors, or audit professionals with several years of practice who seek to reinforce ethical decision‑making and avoid regulatory pitfalls.
What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI
Adaptive Knowledge Graph
Practice Questions
Lesson Modules
Console Simulator Labs
Exam Tips & Strategy
20 Activity Formats
Course Outline
63 learning goals
1
Independence
3 topics
Conceptual framework and threats
- Comprehend the AICPA independence conceptual framework and distinguish between independence in fact and independence in appearance.
- Recognize the seven categories of threats to independence including self-review, advocacy, familiarity, undue influence, self-interest, management participation, and adverse interest.
- Comprehend the types of safeguards that can reduce independence threats to an acceptable level and identify when no safeguard can adequately mitigate a threat.
- Analyze engagement scenarios to identify specific independence threats, evaluate their significance, and determine whether available safeguards are sufficient.
Covered members and financial interests
- Recognize the definition of covered members under the AICPA Code including partners, managers on the engagement, and their immediate families.
- Comprehend the rules governing direct and material indirect financial interests in attest clients held by covered members and their immediate families.
- Analyze scenarios involving covered member financial relationships, employment of immediate family members by attest clients, and close relative employment to determine independence impairment.
- Synthesize a covered member monitoring program for a multi-office CPA firm addressing financial interest tracking, employment relationship disclosures, and annual independence confirmations.
Nonaudit services and independence
- Recognize the categories of nonaudit services that impair independence when provided to attest clients including bookkeeping, valuation, and management functions.
- Comprehend the general requirements for providing permissible nonaudit services to attest clients including management agreement to accept responsibility and the CPA's oversight obligations.
- Analyze engagement scenarios to determine whether proposed nonaudit services would impair independence and identify safeguards that could preserve the attest relationship.
2
Integrity and Objectivity
1 topic
Conflicts of interest and subordination of judgment
- Comprehend the integrity and objectivity rule requiring CPAs to be free from conflicts of interest and to maintain objectivity and freedom from bias in all professional services.
- Recognize situations that create conflicts of interest for CPAs including simultaneous relationships with competing clients, personal financial interests, and referral arrangements.
- Comprehend the subordination of judgment provisions and identify when a CPA must dissociate from a position taken by a supervisor or client that the CPA believes is materially misstated.
- Analyze practice scenarios to determine whether a conflict of interest exists, whether informed consent can cure it, and what steps the CPA must take to maintain objectivity.
- Recognize the ethical obligations when a CPA discovers a client has provided materially false or misleading information and identify the required steps including documentation and potential withdrawal.
3
General Standards and Technical Compliance
1 topic
Professional competence and due care
- Recognize the general standards requiring professional competence, due professional care, adequate planning and supervision, and sufficient relevant data before reaching professional conclusions.
- Comprehend the obligation to comply with applicable technical standards including GAAP, GAAS, SSARS, and SSAE and identify the hierarchy of authoritative guidance.
- Analyze scenarios where a CPA is asked to perform services outside their area of competence and determine the ethical obligations regarding acceptance, training, or referral.
4
Confidential Client Information
1 topic
Confidentiality rules and permitted disclosures
- Comprehend the AICPA confidentiality rule and the general prohibition against disclosing confidential client information without the client's specific consent.
- Recognize the exceptions permitting disclosure of confidential client information including valid subpoenas, peer review proceedings, ethics investigations, and quality review programs.
- Comprehend the intersection of the AICPA confidentiality rule with IRC Section 7216 governing tax return information disclosure and identify when additional client consent is required.
- Analyze scenarios involving subpoenas, regulatory inquiries, and practice sales to determine the CPA's disclosure obligations and required client notifications.
5
Contingent Fees and Commissions
1 topic
Fee arrangements and disclosure requirements
- Recognize the circumstances under which contingent fees are prohibited for CPAs, specifically when performing audits, reviews, compilations, or examinations for the same client.
- Comprehend the rules governing commissions and referral fees including when they are permitted for nonattest clients and the required disclosures to clients.
- Analyze fee arrangement scenarios to determine whether contingent fees or commissions are ethically permissible and whether required disclosures have been properly made.
6
Acts Discreditable
1 topic
Discreditable conduct categories
- Recognize the categories of acts discreditable to the profession including discrimination, harassment, negligence in the preparation of financial statements or records, and failure to file personal tax returns.
- Recognize acts discreditable related to government or employer requirements including failure to follow government audit standards and solicitation or disclosure of CPA exam questions.
- Analyze practice scenarios to determine whether a CPA's conduct constitutes an act discreditable and identify the potential disciplinary consequences.
- Comprehend the ethical implications of negligence in preparing financial statements or records and distinguish between errors, negligence, and fraud in the context of professional responsibility.
- Recognize the specific acts discreditable related to governmental bodies and commissions including failure to follow government audit standards when required by law or contract.
7
Advertising, Solicitation, and Firm Organization
1 topic
Marketing standards and organizational rules
- Recognize the advertising and solicitation standards for CPA firms including prohibitions on false or misleading claims, coercive solicitation, and deceptive firm name usage.
- Comprehend the form of organization and name rules for CPA practices including ownership requirements, use of fictitious or misleading names, and restrictions on non-CPA ownership.
- Analyze firm marketing materials and organizational structures to determine compliance with AICPA advertising standards and form of organization rules.
8
SEC Independence Rules
1 topic
SEC vs. AICPA independence requirements
- Recognize the key differences between SEC independence rules and AICPA independence rules including prohibited nonaudit services, partner rotation requirements, and cooling-off periods for public company auditors.
- Comprehend the PCAOB oversight framework and the additional independence requirements imposed on auditors of SEC-reporting entities beyond the AICPA Code.
- Recognize the prohibited nonaudit services for SEC audit clients including bookkeeping, financial information systems design, appraisal or valuation services, and management functions.
- Analyze engagement scenarios involving public company audit clients to determine whether proposed nonaudit services or relationships would violate SEC independence rules.
- Synthesize a firm independence policy addressing both AICPA and SEC requirements, incorporating annual independence confirmations, restricted entity lists, and monitoring procedures.
9
State Board Requirements
1 topic
Licensure maintenance and CPE obligations
- Recognize the typical state board CPE hour requirements including total hours per renewal period, ethics-specific hour mandates, and acceptable delivery formats.
- Comprehend the license renewal process including renewal deadlines, inactive status provisions, reinstatement requirements, and the consequences of practicing on a lapsed license.
- Recognize the peer review requirements for CPA firms including mandatory enrollment, review types (system reviews, engagement reviews), and the consequences of failing peer review.
- Analyze scenarios involving CPE compliance failures, license lapses, and peer review deficiencies to determine the CPA's obligations and potential disciplinary exposure.
- Comprehend the mobility provisions allowing CPAs to practice across state lines without additional licensure and identify the conditions that must be met for practice privilege.
- Recognize the state board disciplinary process including investigation triggers, hearing procedures, available sanctions, and the relationship between state board discipline and AICPA membership consequences.
10
Whistleblower Protections and Reporting Obligations
1 topic
SOX whistleblower framework
- Comprehend the Sarbanes-Oxley Section 301 requirements for audit committee establishment of procedures to receive and handle complaints regarding accounting and auditing matters.
- Recognize the anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers under SOX Section 806 and identify the types of protected activity and available remedies.
- Comprehend the CPA's reporting obligations when discovering illegal acts during an audit under AU-C Section 250 and the requirement to communicate with those charged with governance.
- Analyze scenarios involving discovery of fraud or illegal acts to determine the CPA's reporting obligations, the appropriate communication channels, and the interplay between confidentiality and reporting duties.
11
Tax Practice Ethics and Circular 230
2 topics
Circular 230 standards and tax return positions
- Comprehend the scope and applicability of Treasury Circular 230 to CPAs practicing before the IRS, including the types of practice covered and who qualifies as a practitioner.
- Recognize the due diligence standards for tax return positions under Circular 230 Section 10.34 including the realistic possibility standard and the substantial authority standard.
- Comprehend the standards for written tax advice under Circular 230 Section 10.37 including the requirement to base opinions on reasonable factual assumptions and applicable law.
- Recognize the conflict of interest rules in Circular 230 Section 10.29 and the requirements for informed written consent when representing multiple parties in tax matters.
Practitioner penalties and disciplinary provisions
- Recognize the sanctions available under Circular 230 including censure, suspension, disbarment, and monetary penalties for practitioners who violate the regulations.
- Comprehend the IRC penalty provisions applicable to tax return preparers under Sections 6694 and 6695 including penalties for understatement of tax liability and failure to comply with due diligence requirements.
- Analyze tax practice scenarios to determine whether the practitioner's conduct violates Circular 230 provisions or exposes them to preparer penalties under the IRC.
- Synthesize a tax practice quality control framework addressing return position documentation, engagement letters, conflict checking, and Circular 230 compliance monitoring.
12
Cross-Cutting Ethical Integration
1 topic
Multi-standard ethical analysis
- Analyze complex practice scenarios that implicate multiple AICPA Code provisions simultaneously, identifying all applicable rules and determining their interaction.
- Analyze scenarios where AICPA Code requirements, SEC independence rules, and Circular 230 provisions overlap or conflict, and determine the most restrictive applicable standard.
- Synthesize an integrated ethics compliance program for a CPA firm that addresses AICPA Code, SEC independence, state board requirements, and Circular 230 obligations in a unified framework.
- Comprehend the ethical obligations of CPAs in emerging practice areas including cryptocurrency accounting, ESG reporting, and AI-assisted audit tools, applying existing ethical principles to novel contexts.
- Analyze the ethical obligations when a CPA transitions between firms, addressing client consent, file transfer, confidentiality of the former firm's proprietary information, and noncompete considerations.
- Synthesize an ethical decision-making framework for CPAs that integrates the AICPA conceptual framework approach with professional judgment, addressing how to evaluate novel situations not explicitly covered by existing rules.
Scope
Included Topics
- AICPA Code of Professional Conduct: independence conceptual framework, threats to independence (self-review, advocacy, familiarity, undue influence, self-interest, management participation), and safeguards including covered members and their immediate families.
- Integrity and objectivity principles including conflicts of interest, subordination of judgment, and the obligation to be free from conflicts when performing professional services.
- General standards of the profession including competence, due professional care, adequate planning and supervision, and sufficient relevant data for professional conclusions.
- Compliance with technical standards including GAAP, GAAS, SSARS, SSAE, and the hierarchy of authoritative guidance.
- Confidential client information rules including consent requirements, permitted disclosures (subpoenas, quality reviews, ethics investigations), and the intersection with tax return information disclosure.
- Contingent fees and commissions: when permitted for nonattest clients, when prohibited for attest clients, required disclosures, and referral fee restrictions.
- Acts discreditable to the profession including discrimination, harassment, negligence in preparing financial statements, failure to file tax returns, and solicitation or disclosure of CPA exam content.
- Advertising and solicitation standards for CPA firms including false or misleading claims, testimonials, and firm name requirements.
- Form of organization and name restrictions for CPA practices including ownership by non-CPAs, fictitious names, and state board requirements.
- SEC independence rules versus AICPA independence rules: key differences for public company auditors including prohibited nonaudit services, partner rotation, cooling-off periods, and PCAOB oversight.
- State board of accountancy requirements including CPE hour requirements, ethics hour mandates, license renewal deadlines, peer review obligations, and consequences of noncompliance.
- Whistleblower protections and reporting obligations under Sarbanes-Oxley Act Sections 301 and 806, including audit committee reporting channels and anti-retaliation provisions.
- Tax practice ethics under Treasury Circular 230 including due diligence for tax return positions, standards for written advice, conflicts of interest in tax practice, and practitioner penalties.
Not Covered
- Detailed accounting procedures, journal entries, and financial statement preparation techniques — only ethical obligations related to these activities are in scope.
- Auditing procedures, sampling methodologies, and substantive testing techniques beyond their ethical dimensions.
- Tax code provisions, tax planning strategies, and IRC interpretations — only the ethical framework governing tax practice is covered.
- Business valuation methodologies, forensic accounting investigation techniques, and litigation support procedures beyond their ethical implications.
- International accounting standards (IFRS) and foreign regulatory frameworks except as they interact with AICPA ethical obligations.
CE CPA Ethics CPE is coming soon
Adaptive learning that maps your knowledge and closes your gaps.
Create Free Account to Be Notified