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Ethics More Than Rules Compliance

BY ARTHUR SIEGEL

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2003. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

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The quiz, Test Your Knowledge of Professional Ethics ( JofA, Oct.02, page 110), gave the technically correct answer to question no. 4: Is the engagement partner independent if his mother-in-law is the controller of the client? But it would have been better if the answer reminded readers that professional ethics call for more than compliance with the rulesthey also require objectivity. See Rule 102, Integrity and Objectivity of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.

If practitioners asked themselves the question, many would conclude that, in these circumstances, they could not be objective.

Arthur Siegel, CPA
New York City