Adherence to the CPA Code of Professional Conduct goes beyond professional obligation: it constitutes a source of pride, value, and competitive distinction. While stakeholders rely on an accountant’s judgment and guidance, ethical dilemmas can create challenges in determining ways in which to implement a course of action that is compliant with our professional code, especially within an international business environment. This course helps participants to develop skills for dealing with ethical dilemmas and using appropriate decision making in alignment with our professional code, to help organizations navigate opportunities and challenges.

The observance of ethics holds significant importance for CPAs, whose commitment to ethical conduct and protecting the public differentiates these professionals from other practitioners and helps to establish their role as essential business leaders. This course will provide participants with an opportunity to refresh and update their knowledge of the CPA Code, thus enabling accounting professionals to build competence in interpreting and applying these principles for resolving a variety of realistic situations.

Participants will also explore current and emerging issues in organizations that call for ethical leadership. This course emphasizes collaboration and interactivity, as participants will engage with their peers in a variety of activities, including polling questions, small-group discussions, and/or case studies.

Topics Include: 

• An overview of the CPA Code of Professional Conduct across the country, with a more detailed explanation of the requirements in the specific jurisdiction.
• Current and emerging issues relevant to professional accountants, such as sustainability, the use of experts, money laundering, corruption, earnings management, and tax planning. 
• Collaborative multiple-choice questions and/or case studies that allow participants to work together in small groups to apply ethical decision-making in realistic scenarios using a decision-making framework.

NOTE: This course description has been revised and reflects updates for 2025. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.

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By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply research and critical thinking skills to analyze and resolve ethical challenges.
• Identify key ethics trends in the Canadian and global business environments and determine several significant implications for CPAs as business leaders.
• Use the CPA Code of Professional Conduct as a resource for decision-making.
• Interpret and apply the CPA Code to resolve ethical issues when they arise.
• Apply professional judgment in determining the most appropriate action and support their decisions in relation to professional accounting codes of conduct.
• Use international accounting codes of conduct and guidance as sources of best practice in addressing ethical dilemmas.