Examining How Auditing Text Books Cover the AICPA’s Conceptual Frameworks for Ethics

Abstract

The AICPA’s Codification of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Revised Code), issued in June 2014, features two “principle-based” conceptual frameworks that employ a “threats and safeguards” approach to CPAs’ ethical dilemmas. These 2014 conceptual frameworks reprise concepts and terminology from similar AICPA 2006 and 2008 conceptual frameworks. This article discusses the heightened relevance of principle-based conceptual frameworks and examines how eight major auditing textbooks, all written since the 2006 and 2008 frameworks, cover how contemporary principles-based professional ethics supplement and enhance traditional “rules-based” ethics. The results show that few of the eight examined auditing textbooks cover adequately or at all the Code of Professional Conduct’s conceptual frameworks. An appendix presents materials to help auditing professors augment their classroom coverage and to help auditing textbook authors strengthen their future textbook editions.