A forensic accountant’s professional responsibility is to follow the
highest standards of conduct prescribed by each professional
conduct the individual belongs to and to employ the degree of
knowledge possessed by other member in the profession (Rufus,
Miller, & Hahn, 2015). While there are principles in the AICPA Code
of Conduct that accountants must commit to maintain the public’s
trust, there are rules of the Code that must be enforced. Those rules
are independence, integrity and objectivity, general standards, such
as professional competence and due professional care, compliance,
accounting principles, as related to GAAP, and lastly responsibilities
to clients (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015).
Exercising due professional care, as it relates to accounting means
that a member should observe the profession’s technical and ethical
standards, strive to continually improve competence and the quality
of services, and adhere to their professional responsibility to the best
of their ability (Love & Eickemeyer, 2020). This means if the forensic
accountant is not skilled in providing reports on valuation losses, they
need not engage with the client. The forensic accountant must also
demonstrate integrity and objectivity. For the forensic accountant to
have integrity, they must be honest and have a strong moral code
within themselves. This means the accountant should not stray from
the truth to make the numbers within a report look better than they
are. Having objectivity means the accountant is not biased to one
party in the case and is only interested in presenting evidence that is
factual.
When accountants do not adhere to the rules and principles of a
professional organization, profound consequences may follow. For
instance, if the violation is severe enough, one’s CPA license could be
revoked by state boards of accountancy (Marz, 2023). Other
punishments may be that the AICPA could expel or suspend your
membership (Marz, 2023). To ensure the above standards are fully
followed, the forensic accountant should be diligent in making sure all
evidence gathered is relevant to the case. The forensic accountant
should conduct interviews with all parties involved thoroughly to get
each side of the complaint. They must do all this while at the same
time maintaining objectivity in listening to statements and being
truthful when called upon as an expert witness by the court.
References
Love, V. J., & Eickemeyer, J. H. (2020, April). Fiduciary Duty, Due Care,
and the Public Interest. Retrieved from The CPA Journal:
https://www.cpajournal.com/2020/04/03/fiduciary-duty-due-care-
and-the-public-interest/
Marz, M. (2023). Penalties for not following the Code of Conduct for
Accountants. Retrieved from Chron:
https://work.chron.com/penalties-not-following-code-conduct-
accountants-17852.html
Rufus, R., Miller, L., & Hahn, W. (2014). Forensic Accounting. Pearson.
