Financial Reporting and Ethics - The Institute of Chartered ...

ETHICAL THREATS AND SAFEGUARDSto the public interest, he is advised to seek the counsel of The Instituteof Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, his member body.10.4 ETHICAL THREATS TS IN OTHER FINANCIAL SERVICESOther financial services which professional accountants offer to the public arediverse and many. There are new and emerging developments in business.Secondly, the evolution of financial markets, crises in the world economy andchanges in information technology do not make possible an all-inclusive listof such services. Nonetheless, the following services, among others, can beidentified and discussed briefly, namely:(a)Non-Assurance ServicesThe ‘net’ of non-assurance services is wide. It is any service other thanaudit which a professional accountant in public or private service mayoffer. In accepting and executing non-assurance services, particularly,it is imperative to abide with the Code of Conduct for members of TheInstitute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and that of the InternationalFederation of Accountants. Specific emphasis is made of the obligationto adhere to Sections 100.1 to 100(5) of the Code (IFAC, 2009) on thefundamental principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competenceand care, confidentiality and professional behaviour. These canons ofbehaviour have been highlighted in Sections 8.2.1 to 8.2.4. of this studypack. A professional accountant has to be independent of mind and inappearance.Acceptance of non-assurance services gives rise to or creation of threatsof ‘self review,’ ‘self-interest’ and ‘advocacy’. The threats of ‘self –interest‘ and ‘advocacy’ have been treated in Section 8.5.3. (a) and (b).‘Self-review’ threat is one under which a professional accountant cannotappropriately analyse and appraise the position of a previous judgmentwhich he made or service rendered, or by another individual orcolleague, all from the same organisation, on which the professionalaccountant will rely when he was forming a judgment, as part ofsupplying a current service.(b)(c)All Services‘All services’ category suffers the risk of objectivity. There is the threatto compliance with the fundamental principle of objectivity. Forexample, a ‘familiarly’ threat to objectivity may be created from a familyor close personal or business relation.Assumption of Management ResponsibilitiesAssumption of such responsibilities include authorizing transactionsand taking responsibility for designing, implementing and maintaining195