Responding to a Suspected Illegal Act

This Exposure Draft (ED) proposes new requirements that address a professional accountant’s responsibilities regarding the disclosure of suspected illegal acts committed by a client or employer. The proposals describe the circumstances in which a professional accountant is required or expected to override confidentiality and disclose the act to an appropriate authority.

The ED proposes adding two new sections addressing illegal acts to the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code)—one each for professional accountants in public practice and professional accountants in business—and several revisions to other related sections. The new sections clearly delineate the expected course of action for a professional accountant to take if those charged with governance do not respond to the issue appropriately.

Comments are welcome from all stakeholders. See also the press release for more information. 

Submitted Comment Letters

1. CGA-Canada (Canada)
November 13, 2012

2. PICPA (United States)
November 29, 2012

3. CIPFA (United Kingdom)
December 3, 2012

4. American Accounting Association, Standards Committee of the Auditing Section (United States)
December 5, 2012

5. GLW Analysis Services Pty Ltd (Australia)
December 5, 2012

6. Institut des Réviseurs d'Entreprises - Instituut van de Bedrijfsrevisoren (Belgium)
December 6, 2012

7. Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (Germany)
December 7, 2012

8. FAR - The Institute for the Accountancy Profession in Sweden (Sweden)
December 11, 2012

9. Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland e.V. (IDW) (Germany)
December 12, 2012

10. iCPAR (Rwanda)
December 12, 2012

11. Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic (Czech Republic)
December 13, 2012

12. Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants  (Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China))
December 13, 2012

13. IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) (United States)
December 13, 2012

14. MNP (Canada)
December 13, 2012

15. McGladrey LLP (United States)
December 13, 2012

16. RSM International (United Kingdom)
December 13, 2012

17. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom)
December 14, 2012

18. CCAB (United Kingdom)
December 14, 2012

19. Consiglio Nazionale dei dottori commercialisti e degli esperti contabili (Italy)
December 14, 2012

20. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (United States)
December 14, 2012

21. FAOA (Switzerland)
December 14, 2012

22. ICAEW (United Kingdom)
December 14, 2012

23. ICAS (United Kingdom)
December 14, 2012

24. Institute Of Certified Public Accountants Of Kenya (Kenya)
December 14, 2012

25. Institute of Internal Auditors (United States)
December 14, 2012

26. Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA) (Korea, Republic of)
December 14, 2012

27. Mazars (United Kingdom)
December 14, 2012

28. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) (India)
December 14, 2012

29. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan  (Pakistan)
December 14, 2012

30. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (United States)
December 15, 2012

31. BDO (United Kingdom)
December 15, 2012

32. IFAC's Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee (United States)
December 15, 2012

33. Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (Uganda)
December 15, 2012

34. Kreston International (United Kingdom)
December 15, 2012

35. Malta Institute of Accountants (Malta)
December 15, 2012

36. ASSIREVI (Italy)
December 17, 2012

37. Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (Canada)
December 17, 2012

38. Institute of Financial Accountants (United Kingdom)
December 17, 2012

39. PKF International Limited (United Kingdom)
December 17, 2012

40. Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited-Australia (Australia)
December 18, 2012

41. Australian Public Policy Committee (Australia)
December 18, 2012

42. European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs (Belgium)
December 18, 2012

43. Federation des Experts comptables Europeens  (Belgium)
December 18, 2012

44. Grant Thornton International (United States)
December 18, 2012

45. Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (Australia)
December 18, 2012

46. Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de Espana (Spain)
December 18, 2012

47. SRA (Netherlands)
December 18, 2012

48. Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (Zambia)
December 18, 2012

49. Chartered Accountants Ireland (Ireland)
December 19, 2012

50. FSR - danske revisorer (Denmark)
December 19, 2012

51. IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee (SMP) (United States)
December 19, 2012

52. Insitute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) - Economic Crime and Forensic Accounting Committee (Cyprus)
December 19, 2012

53. KPMG (United Kingdom)
December 19, 2012

54. PricewaterhouseCoopers (United Kingdom)
December 19, 2012

55. New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board  (New Zealand)
December 20, 2012

56. The Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Japan)
December 21, 2012

57. Denise Silva Ferreira Juvenal (Brazil)
December 23, 2012

58. CICPA (China)
December 27, 2012

59. U.S. Chamber of Commerce (United States)
January 3, 2013

60. CPA AUSTRALIA (Australia)
January 8, 2013

61. Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (Ireland)
January 8, 2013

62. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (United Kingdom)
January 8, 2013

63. Ernst & Young Global (United Kingdom)
January 8, 2013

64. Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (South Africa)
January 8, 2013

65. CNCC - Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes + Conseil Superieur de lâ��Ordre des Experts-Comptables (France)
January 11, 2013

66. SAICA - The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (South Africa)
January 11, 2013

67. FRC - Financial Reporting Council (United Kingdom)
January 15, 2013

68. IOSCO - International Organization of Securities Commissions (Spain)
January 22, 2013

69. NASBA - National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (United States)
January 22, 2013

70. 7 independent European audit regulators and/or oversight bodies (Netherlands)
January 23, 2013

71. California Society of CPAs (APAS Committee) - CALCPA (United States)
January 24, 2013

72. California Society of CPAs - PCC Committee (United States)
January 28, 2013

73. Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants - NBA (Netherlands)
February 15, 2013

Related Resources

• IESBA Strategy and Work Plan, 2010-2012
• Proposed Change to the Definition of "Engagement Team"
• Proposed Change to the Definition of “Those Charged with Governance”
• Proposed Changes to the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Addressing Conflicts of Interest
• Proposed Changes to the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants Related to Provisions Addressing a Breach of a Requirement of the Code