Although adoption of the Code has increased steadily over the years, the Board has recently heard a consistent message from stakeholders that the complexity of the Code, as well as how it is written, make it difficult to understand for both English and non-native English speakers. The Board therefore formed a six-person Structure of the Code Task Force in April 2014 chaired by Don Thomson, a Board member and a partner at Grant Thornton Canada. The task force set out to simplify the Code. This involved implementing a completely new structure, reorganizing parts of the Code, clarifying where necessary, and exploring how technology could improve accessibility and presentation of the Code in a digital and mobile world. The ultimate goal was to make the code more usable, accessible and enforceable.
IESBA is restructuring the code while it is progressing enhancements to individual and new sections of the Code. Its scope includes a new framework to guide professional accountants in how to best serve the public interest when responding to identified or suspected acts of non-compliance with laws and regulations. This has been a long and complex project, given the challenges of addressing whistle-blowing on a global basis.
Read more in the article, “Ethics: a new path of duty” available at GAA Accounting: The Journal of the Global Accounting Alliance. This article was authored exclusively for Accountancy Ireland by the International Federation of Accountants. It was originally published in the August 2015 edition.
