Without discussing AICPA's Code of Professional Conduct, I can assure you,
under no circumstances would I ever work with an Attorney such as Joseph Leslie or
anyone with no moral compass. Undoubtedly, I will never work to help or defend white-
collar criminals or corrupt authorities. First, the scenario eludes Leslie only works with
clients who are not only wealthy, but also very likely greedy and guilty! As forensic
accountants, we should be able to read between the lines of a scenario such as this.
Forensic accountants must be thoughtful and cautious when accepting clients and
consider a potential conflict of interest before accepting an engagement. While a forensic
accountant may choose to work with criminals and criminal defense lawyers, there is no
clear guidance for this type of engagement except adherence to the AICPA Code of
Professional Conduct and personal and professional integrity. (Prendergast, n.d.)
In addition to conflict of interest, accepting an engagement should include adhering
to guidelines of independence and objectivity, professional experience, and credentials.
Moreover, the integrity of the client should also be analyzed and considered, including the
ability to pay for professional services. (Prendergast, n.d.).
Accepting a client engagement, including work for a lawyer, should entail an
engagement letter encompassing the scope of services, payment terms, and a retainer.
While an engagement letter is considered a contract or legal contract, an accountant should
remain aware and diligent regarding the integrity of the job or services. (Prendergast, n.d.).
According to Deborah K. Rood, author of: Is this client the right fit for your firm?
For the Journal of Accountancy, evaluating a prospective client is essential, especially for
high-risk engagements, and suggests the following:
•
o Personally meet with prospective clients
o Ask for and follow up with references, including attorneys, bankers,
business consultants, and major vendors or customers.
o For key executives of business clients, ask for and follow up with personal
references, including previous employers and business associates.
o Consider obtaining a credit history for individual tax and financial planning
clients.
o If the prospective client is changing CPA firms, request permission to
contact the predecessor firm to investigate issues such as the client's
consideration of advice provided, integrity, ethics, reasonableness of
expectations, experience and qualifications of the staff, and business
policies and procedures including cooperation, timing of the engagement,
and whether the client pays bills on time. The previous CPA firm can
provide only limited information unless it obtains an Internal Revenue Code
Sec. 7216 disclosure statement from the client. Even so, the prospective
client's reaction to this request (and the predecessor firm's response) may
indicate the client's relationship with professional service providers.
o Determine how the prospective client found the CPA firm. A referral from a
long-term client may require a different degree of professional skepticism
than someone who found the firm over the internet. (Rood, 2013)
While the AICPA's Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct express the
profession's recognition of its responsibilities to the public, clients, and colleagues, I think
an accountant should not forget to protect themselves and their professional integrity. ET
Section 54 Article III—Integrity describes a member who should test decisions by asking:
"Am I doing what a person of integrity would do? (AICPA, n.d.) Even though we already
covered integrity, I think it's relevant in accepting an engagement or not. (AICPA, n.d.)
ET Section 57 Article VI—Scope and Nature of Services describes the main essential
principals, as previously described: Integrity, objectivity and independence, and due care
encompassing competence and diligence.
References
Code of professional conduct. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from
https://us.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/research/standards/codeofconduct/download
abledocuments/2013june1codeofprofessionalconduct.pdf
Deborah K. Rood, C. (2013, July 1). Is this client the right fit for your firm? Journal of
Accountancy. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2013/jul/20137770.html
Prendergast, K. (n.d.). Client acceptance procedures best practices among accounting
firms. Retrieved from
http://www.researchassociatesinc.com/documents/BestPracticesClient.aspx
