Proposed Technology-related Revisions to the Code

This exposure draft seeks to enhance the Code’s robustness and expand its relevance in an environment being reshaped by rapid technological advancements. The proposed amendments will guide the ethical mindset and behavior of professional accountants in business and in public practice as they deal with changes brought by technology in their work processes and the content of the services they provide. 

Among other matters, the proposals:

• Draw special attention to the professional competence and confidentiality imperatives of the digital age.
• Address the ethical dimension of professional accountants’ reliance on, or use of, the output of technology in carrying out their work. 
• Further enhance considerations relating to threats from the use of technology as well as considerations relating to complex circumstances in applying the Code’s conceptual framework.
• Strengthen and clarify the International Independence Standards (IIS) with respect to technology-related non-assurance services (NAS) firms may provide to their audit clients or technology-related business relationships they may enter into with their audit clients.
• Explicitly acknowledge that the IIS that apply to assurance engagements are applicable to assurance engagements on non-financial information, for example, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures.

Submit a comment letter or complete the online survey by June 20, 2022.