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NEWS - PLANNING
Independence guidelines beefed up
1/25/2005
Two of Australia's leading accounting bodies have amended the requirements of their professional independence statement to help the practical implementation of Clerp 9 corporate law reforms.
The revised professional statement governs the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and Certified Practising Accountants in Australia and came in to effect from January 1.
According to ICAA and CPA Australia, the amendments give accountants clear guidelines on how to identify, assess and manage risk to professional independence, specifically in the provision of assurance services.
They said the amendments also addressed where members were obliged to reject and cease engagement with clients, and said they complemented existing content on best practice such as mandatory rotation and waiting periods before a retired auditor of a client could become a director of the client.
CPA Australia chief executive Greg Larsen said audit independence was the cornerstone of corporate reporting and the additional layer of accountability would ensure chartered accountants maintained a high degree of independence, which was paramount in the public interest.
"It shows that co-regulation is working well in Australia, and demonstrates the important role of the profession in upholding standards of audit independence," he said.
ICAA chief executive Stephen Harrison said the concept of professional independence was fundamental to the accounting profession, requiring members to approach their work with integrity and objectivity. "This statement will be under constant review so as to ensure those concepts are appropriately reflected in our standard," he said.
Reproduced from the Australian Financial Review - 21 Jan 2005
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