GWSCPA e-newsletter

The Profession

2010 Tech Survey finds CPA's greatest concern continues to be data security

This year's top 10 technology issues include:

1. Security of data, code and communications

2. Connectivity / wireless access

3. Backup solutions / disaster recovery

4. Secure electronic collaboration with clients

5. Paperless workflow

6. Laptop security (encryption)

7. Small business software

8. User mobility

9. Tax software

10. Server virtualization and consolidation

View the full Journal of Accountancy article HERE

AICPA says Ethics Codification Project will Make Code Easier to Use, Understand

In 2009, the AICPA launched the Ethics Codification Project to reformat and enhance its ethics literature. Similar to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification ^TM,the AICPA ethics literature will be put into a logically structured, topical format and re-drafted using consistent wording conventions and styles. The primary objectives of the Codification Project are to improve the Code by making it topical and easier to use. Another important goal of codification will be to retain the substance of the existing AICPA ethics standards.

Since 2001, the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) has been converging the AICPA Code with the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, which is issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). As a member body of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the AICPA agrees to have ethics standards that at a minimum meet the IESBA ethics standards. Therefore, the PEEC will continue to consider convergence issues as part of the Codification effort. In this context, "convergence" means the PEEC may propose changes to AICPA guidance that is less strict than guidance in the IESBA Code or does not exist in the current Code. However, any proposed changes to the AICPA Code resulting from these efforts will follow full due process as set out in the AICPA Bylaws, which includes exposure of the proposed standard to the membership and consideration of all comments at

PEEC meetings that are open to the public. Convergence does not mean that the PEEC will adopt lower standards when international standards are less strict. Rather, the PEEC will maintain the high ethical standards currently in the AICPA Code.

The PEEC is using the IESBA Code as a structural model for the Codification, though differences between the Codification and the IESBA Code will exist in the final version. Due to the significant changes the PEEC expects to make to the AICPA Code as a result of this project, the committee will expose the Codification for comments and consider them before adopting it. The PEEC also will communicate with and request input from constituent groups, including AICPA members, state boards of accountancy, state CPA societies, accounting regulators and others, to ensure they are informed about the proposed changes.

As part of this project, the PEEC will map each AICPA ethics rule and related guidance from the Code to its new location in the Codification to help members and regulators who need a comprehensive understanding of the final changes to the Code. For example, many accountancy boards incorporate the AICPA Code into their statutes or regulations by reference. Once the Codification is final, these boards may need to take certain actions, consistent with their states' mandates and other requirements. The PEEC will do all it can to help facilitate the boards' transition to the new Codification.

The Codification Project is scheduled to take approximately 3 - 5 years to complete, during which time it will continue to be discussed in all open meetings of the PEEC. All GWSCPA members are subject to AICPA Ethics rules as part of their GWSCPA Membership.