OROC Congress Ethics and Accountability
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Transcript of OROC Congress Ethics and Accountability
Standing for trust and integrity
OROC Congress
Ethics and Accountability
Lisbon, 22 October 2010
Hilde Blomme
FEE Director of Practice Regulation
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About FEE
43 professional institutes of more than 500.000 accountants all contributing to a more efficient, transparent and sustainable European economy
32 European countries, including all 27 EU MS
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FEE: Representing the Profession and Adding Value to Members
Catalyst in Europe
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Areas of Activities
Company Law Corporate
Governance
Ethics
Auditing
Accounting
Insurance
Banks
Financial Reporting
Sustainability
Qualification and Market
Access
SMEs-SMPs
Public Sector Taxation And more…
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Overview: Europe and Ethics
IESBA Code of Ethics in European Countries
European Commission Green Paper on Audit Policy
FEE Discussion Paper on Integrity in Professional Ethics
FEE Comparison Project on Auditor Independence
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IESBA Code of Ethics
in European Countries
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IESBA Code of Ethics in European Countries
Countries Status # %
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (FSR), Finland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden (FAR)
IESBA Code of Ethics (2009) 8 28
Belgium, Iceland, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
Considering adopting IESBA Code of Ethics (2009)
8 28
Ireland, UK IESBA Code of Ethics (2009) for cross-border purposes, some institutes also for national purposes
2 6
Estonia IESBA Code of Ethics (2009) as best practice
1 3
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland
National ethics code 10 35
TOTAL 29 100
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European Commission
Green Paper on Audit Policy
PROPOSALS RE INDEPENDENCE
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Green Paper
Proposals re:
Role of auditors
Governance and independence audit firms
Supervision
Concentration and market structure
Creation European Market
Simplification: SMEs & SMPs
International cooperation
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Proposals to Enhance Independence of Auditors
Appointment and remuneration of auditors by third party, not company (shareholders)
Mandatory audit tendering Mandatory audit firm and partner rotation Prohibition provision non-audit services (NAS) (for all
audits?) Pure audit firms Limit proportion fees from 1 audit client European “qualification” passport for auditors with
common independence rules (IESBA Code?) Permit provision of NAS to SMEs, like tax, HR, access
to credit, certain accounting
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FEE Discussion Paper
on Integrity
in Professional Ethics
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Integrity in Professional Ethics
FEE Discussion Paper issued in September 2009 for comments by 31
January 201030 response letters receivedAnalysis of responses being finalisedTo promote debate
Integrity is the core principle of professional behaviour, but the hardest to understand and instil in people
More focus on guidance and training on integrity rather than independence and objectivity
What does it mean?
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Integrity is more than Words...
Personal Professional
BE
HA
VIO
UR
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Culture
Information
Policies
Strategy
LeadershipAwareness
Predictability
Transparency
Long-term view
People
Embedding Organisational Integrity
Be honest and truthful
Deal fairly
Comply with laws
Promote public interest
Show consistency
Be open-minded
Take corrective action
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FEE Comparison Project
on Auditor Independence
Relevance of the Code for FEE and FEE
Member Bodies
The Case for a Common Code
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Discussion and Questions
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