Master five ethical principles for CPAs with real-world case studies of failures and successes. Sharpen your judgment and safeguard professional integrity to build lasting trust.
Welcome to "The 5 Principles of Ethics in Accounting," a comprehensive course designed to deepen your understanding of the ethical foundations guiding the accounting profession. CPAs carry a significant responsibility to uphold the integrity, trust, and credibility of the financial system. The five fundamental ethical principles—integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behavior—are not just theoretical ideals; they are practical, actionable standards that shape every professional decision and interaction.
In this course, we explore each principle through a dual lens: real-world ethical failures and improvement strategies. We will examine high-profile organizational scandals and individual CPA misconduct that violated these principles, reflecting on how such failures could have been prevented and what steps CPAs and organizations can take to strengthen ethical culture and decision-making.
Key learning outcomes include:
By exploring cases such as Enron's accounting deception, Wells Fargo's cross-selling scandal, Carillion's competence failures, KPMG's confidentiality breach, and FTX's blatant disregard for professional behavior, this course offers critical lessons. These examples highlight where systems broke down and how stronger ethical cultures, better oversight, and personal accountability might have changed the outcome. Maintaining these ethical standards is essential not just to avoid violations, but to foster trust and maintain the credibility of our work. By committing to continuous professional development, staying vigilant against conflicts of interest, adhering to ethical guidelines, and fostering a culture of accountability, we can collectively improve our ethical practices and uphold the public interest.
Sabrina is a Chartered Professional Accountant with experience in financial reporting, budgeting, and process improvement. She brings a practical, real-world approach to teaching, focusing on simplifying complex concepts for aspiring and seasoned professionals alike. Passionate about mentorship, she is dedicated to helping others advance their accounting careers and achieve their professional goals.
This portal is provided as a training and development resource for City of Markham employees. Every course is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, is quantifiable in hours, and is verifiable — you receive a documented certificate of completion for every course you finish, stored on LearnFormula indefinitely.
If you hold a professional designation (for example in engineering, accounting, human resources, or law), courses may be counted as professionally relevant, verifiable learning activities toward your continuing professional development. Individual practitioners are responsible for confirming that an activity meets the requirements of their professional body. For questions about the City of Markham's training and development policies, please speak with your people leader or Human Resources.
