RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP VISION DEVELOPMENT AND ETHICS

Ethical aspects of accountancy and audit professions 285
the regulator, the evolution in time of the relevant fundamental principles and also, several
practical recommendations for the future are made.
IFAC (International Federation of Accountants) is the global organization for the accountancy
profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and
contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of over
175 members and associates (which are primarily national professional bodies) in more than
130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice,
education, government service, industry, and commerce. One of the standard-setting boards
of this organization is the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) that
develops and promotes ethical standards and guidance for professional accountants.
According to the above-called code of ethics, a professional accountant should comply
with the following fundamental principles: (1) integrity; (2) objectivity; (3) professional competence
and due care; (4) confidentiality; (5) professional behaviour.
The principle of integrity requires the professional accountant to be straightforward and
honest in all professional and business relationships. The objectivity requires impartiality and
absence of any conflict of interest or undue influence that may intervene in professional or
business judgments. Professional competence refers to permanent professional accountant duty
to maintain professional knowledge and skills. According to the principle of confidentiality,
a professional accountant shall not disclose information acquired as a result of professional
and business relationships to third parties without a specific authorization and must not use
them for the benefit of its staff or third parties. Also, the professional accountant must demonstrate
professional conduct in all circumstances, to comply with relevant laws and regulations
and avoid any action that discredits the profession.
The International Federation of Accountants has signed a statement condemning dishonesty
alongside professional accountancy organizations. IFAC President Olivia Kirtley said:
“Defeating corruption – and thus immeasurably improving the lives of citizens – can only
be achieved through re-energized collaboration between, and commitment of, leaders from
both the public and private sectors. Both sectors require transparent, consistent and robust
anti-corruption measures, and effective internal controls that are critical to good governance
and holding officials accountable.”
Audit is a profession that has taken shape over the years, always seeking to meet the changing
needs of the organizations. The audit focused at its inception more on accounting issues,
but now it has become a powerful tool for the detection of the main risks of organizations.
An audit is a systematic and independent examination of books, accounts, documents of an
organisation to ascertain how far the financial statements present a true and fair view of the
concern. It also attempts to ensure that the books of accounts are properly maintained by the
concern as required by law. Its objective is to determine, among other things, whether the
accounting records are accurate and complete, prepared in accordance with certain specific
accounting principles.
Audit has evolved over time from an exhaustive check of transactions in order to detect
fraud to a check that uses statistical methods, in order to express the auditor’s an opinion
whether the financial statements have been prepared in all material respects, in accordance
with a the law.
In the Certified public accountants (in US and other Commonwealth countries) or external
auditors (in EU) are the only authorized non-governmental external auditors who may
perform audits on an entity’s financial statements.