The AICPA’s (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) Code of
Professional Conduct provides rules for its members to abide. The AICPA serves as the
leading source of guidance for accountants in public practice and while membership is
voluntary, members must adhere to the code. According to ET section 54 article III,
integrity, which is tied to the principles of due care, independence, and objectivity,
requires members to strictly adhere to client confidentiality (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn,
2015). This would mean that the forensic account in this case would need to maintain
confidentiality with the land developer. The forensic accountant would not be able to use
any information the client provided in confidence to try and gain evidence or data to
support their own opinion. Breaking client confidentiality would not only carry
repercussions from the AICPA, but could damage the forensic accountant’s career (and
impact past or other present cases they are working on). ET section 56 article V requires
members to be competent and diligent through education, experience, thorough service,
and adherence to applicable standards (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015). If the forensic
accountant did not have experience in land development, either through education or prior
experience, due care would not be met. Without due care, the forensic accountant may not
know what evidence is useful in the case. ET section 55 article IV discusses the principle
of objectivity and requires members to be impartial, honest intellectually, and free of
conflicts of interest (Rufus, Miller, & Hahn, 2015). If the forensic accountant had any ties
to any of the parties involved or any stake in the game personally, objectivity would be
impossible and the likelihood of gathering sufficient data or evidence would be nearly
impossible.
This prompt ties closely to last weeks discussion of rules of evidence 702 and 703,
relating to expert witnesses. Rule 702, testimony by expert witnesses, pretty much makes
it so that in order for the forensic accountant to be considered and expert witness, the
professional codes of conduct relating to professional care, integrity, and objectivity must
first be met.
References
Rufus, R. J., Miller, L. S., & Hahn, W. (2015). Forensic accounting. Pearson.
