PRACTICAL PD
Courses for Accountants

 

This course is a provocative discussion of ethical issues in accounting, tax and business and their resolution focussing on an important component, your gut. A recent survey taken by the course presenter revealed that 53% of CPAs had failed to listen to their gut on an ethical issue in their career and regretted it.  The presenter shares personal and other experiences with ethically challenging situations, and ways to deal with them.

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It comprises 2 ethics hours for Canadian and Bermuda CPAs.

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AGENDA

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• Consider the role of your gut, versus analysis in ethical decision-making

• The risks of ignoring your gut

• What is your ethics gut and where does it come from?

• Ethics issue or professional disagreement?

• Truth in government funding documents

• Being ready to be fired for taking a stand

• An eclectic group ethical scenarios, primarily from real-life

• Ethics in society…testing and future CPAs

• Diversification of ethics risk, the employed versus the public accountant

• Testifying against a former employer in court

• Ethics in the job interview – is the candidate strong on ethics?

• Are fines a cost of doing business?

• Ethics pressure and coercion by incentives

• Nepotism and ethics

• Ethics and travel expenses

• Another way to punish the fraudster

• Cash payments and taxes

• Learning from ethics history

• You will come out on top in the end!

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Who will benefit

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Anybody with an interest in ethics or needing ethics hours.

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Past feedback:

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• I haven’t taken a lot of courses like this - the paying attention to that gut feeling is so important and so often ignored. People need to pay more attention to that feeling.  

• Appreciate the many real life scenarios where ethics may be tested.

• The way you speak sparks emotion and your real-life stories always stick with me.

• I often enjoy seminar with real life case studies so I did enjoy this seminar

• Your stories are interesting, keeps the topic real instead of just theory

•  I have ADHD, with this I find it extremely difficult to maintain concentration on dry course content such as ethics. Your presentation style keeps me engaged in the topic.

• I especially liked the example where we concluded it was simply a difference of professional opinion (i.e. not every case is going to have an ethics issue in the ethics course... it keeps you on your toes).

• Overall the webinar was great!  I personally thought the course was the right length,

• I thought there was generally good flow and the material was very applicable to not only CPAs but could be expanded to a lot of other groups as well.

• I really enjoyed the course.  I also like the title because I believe that initial gut feeling is a pivotal point in making the right decisions.  

• I really like that you weave grey areas into the course and decisions that may appear ethical on the surface are just differences in opinion about estimates or collectibility, etc.  

• Accounting is full of decisions like this, and I think having these types of examples is good.  

• I’m glad you used the example of speaking truth to power as it is probably the best example of unwavering professional ethics that played out in the public.  

• I also like that you gave people some tools for working through ethical issues

• I enjoy that you put completely interesting things in the course that have nothing to do with the course because it’s funny and interesting.  

• I like the examples, stories and cases

• I like the unrelated stories/jokes

• The course was engaging, fast paced and full of interesting stories that make you think about ethics and bring awareness to the very blurry line. 

• The course also highlighted other possible approaches to ethics issues when there is also a practical human side

• It highlights for me the importance of bring an objective view and analysing and researching these instances before taking action.

• Lots of good stories to make you think. Enjoyed the breakout room and a chance to discuss.  

• Ethics requires one to be thoughtful and reflective.

• I enjoyed the course. You were funny and entertaining. Memorable quote: if you would steal for us, then you will steal from us. 

• Another great webinar!

• I think examples is the best way to talk through ethical situations. Your delivery is great and full of energy

• I like the title, because my gut rarely has failed me