Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Dates and location
Pricing
Hours
Description
This course explores contemporary ethical challenges facing CPAs, focusing on how integrity, critical thinking, and professional judgment guide decision‑making in an evolving business and technological landscape. Participants will examine emerging issues such as ethical impact of AI hallucinations, data privacy, cyber security, money laundering risks, and ESG climate risk reporting to better understand their responsibilities as ethical leaders in the profession.
Topics include:
- Ethics in the CPA profession, including integrity, ethical decision‑making frameworks, and the implication of ethical drift when setting the Tone at the Top.
- Emerging technological trends such as AI hallucination, cyber security considerations, and ethical risks associated with automation and digital tools.
- Financial crime topics including money laundering and terrorist financing regulatory expectations, and the benefits of the beneficial ownership registry with practical case examples.
- ESG, DEI, Indigenous considerations, sustainability reporting, and climate risk disclosure standards.
- Practical tools, case studies, polls, and assessments to support application of ethical principles across business contexts.
NOTE: This course description has been revised and reflects updates for 2026. If you have any questions, please contact pdevents@cpaontario.ca.
Key Takeaways
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Apply critical thinking to assess emerging ethical trends affecting the profession.
- Evaluate ethical considerations related to AI, data privacy, and technological change.
- Interpret how the principle of integrity applies to non‑financial reporting factors such as ESG and DEI.
- Identify key responsibilities under anti‑money laundering and anti‑terrorist financing requirements.
- Assess the ethical dimensions of corporate governance, including Tone at the Top, stakeholder communication, and organizational values.
Who Will Benefit
- CPAs seeking to build awareness of ethical implications related to generative AI; data privacy and cyber security.
- CPAs who are new to ESG considerations or the evolving beneficial registry requirements under AML/ATF regulations.
Please Note:
- This course does not provide detailed technical instruction on developing generative AI, meeting privacy legislation requirements, implementing full ESG reporting frameworks, or achieving compliance under PCMLTFA.
How to Access the Course
This course is delivered as a live webinar. To receive verifiable CPD hours, you must attend the session live. We recommend joining at least 5 minutes before the scheduled start time. For the best interactive experience, please use a computer equipped with a camera and microphone.
A reminder email with the Zoom link and course details will be sent two business days before the session. If you do not receive it, please check your spam or junk folder.
The same information, including any available materials, will also be posted in advance on our Blackboard LMS.
Registration, cancellation, withdrawal and all other CPA Ontario PD policies can be found here.
Speaker(s)
Shari Mann, CPA, CA, an educational consultant, is the president of Strann Consulting Inc. Her consulting activities include the preparation and presentation of numerous professional development courses, mainly in financial accounting and assurance. Complementary activities include the provision of professional services to small and medium-sized accounting firms. Currently, a member of the Medium and Small Practitioners Advisory Committee (to the Accounting Standards Board), she previously served on the Private Enterprise Advisory Committee. Recently, Shari retired from the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance, where she taught for over twenty years. Prior experience also includes over ten years in public practice, both in Canada and New Zealand. In one of her positions, Shari was responsible for staff training, standards and quality control at a national firm.