Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand pinpoints ethics, training in tax scandal repairs
In the wake of the PwC tax scandal, the peak body for chartered accountants in Australia and NZ has unveiled a set of standards it hopes will plot a course for industry reform.
Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand has laid out its road map for reforming the industry in the wake of the PwC Australia tax scandal.
CA ANZ revealed its 14 point plan on Wednesday, outlining changes the peak body for the accounting sector planned to make as well as calling on the government to make several reforms.
The changes outlined in CA ANZ’s plan would oblige more members to follow the peak body’s code of ethics as well as impose further training requirements on accountants.
CA ANZ also calls on the government to introduce mandatory reporting regarding the financial position and results of professional services firms and their remuneration structure.
The peak body calls on the government to provide “clear policy direction to relevant departments and agencies” in response to a parliamentary inquiry into the audit sector.
The joint committee on corporations and financial services made 10 recommendations, but these are yet to be addressed by the Australian government.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has been asked to “clarify the enforceability of audit, audit quality and audit independence standards”.
CA ANZ chief executive Ainslie van Onselen said improving ASIC’s oversight of the accounting industry as well as lifting the number of audit quality inspections the regulator conducted were key reforms that needed action.
Ms van Onselen said there was a clear “appetite for change” within the accounting sector as well as among those who dealt with the industry after a horror year.
“It would be fair to say, as I mentioned in the report, because of the few who acted unethically there’s disappointment from our members,” she said.
“There’s an appetite for change and positive reinforcement of what ethics means.”
CA ANZ’s plan would see the peak body triple the mandatory ethics training requirement of members to six hours every three years.
Members are required to complete 120 hours of professional development every three years.
CA ANZ introduced ethics training for staff in 2021 in the wake of the PwC tax scandal, which saw the firm misuse confidential government tax briefings in a bid to frontrun new laws.
PwC’s former head of international tax Peter Collins, who was at the time a CA ANZ member, supplied the confidential documents to others in the firm.
Mr Collins was allowed to resign from CA ANZ before the Tax Practitioners Board made findings against him.
CA ANZ has since changed its rules, allowing the peak body to take action against former members.
Members put the changes to a vote in 2023, with CA ANZ noting its road map “goes further”, “increasing transparency and investigating how independent, public interest oversight of these crucial functions could be augmented”.
PwC’s former chief executive Tom Seymour, who ran the firm’s tax practice before taking on the top job, is a member of CA ANZ.
Ms Onselen said she could not comment on ongoing investigations by CA ANZ’s professional conduct committee, which is investigating “individuals named by the firm as people involved in the conduct described in the TPB orders or responsible for failure to exercise governance and leadership”.
”These investigations are progressing, in parallel with other agencies’ inquiries and investigations,” CA ANZ said.
The government has also imposed a number of changes on the industry in the wake of the tax scandal, massively increasing penalties for tax promoter schemes.
CA ANZ said it supported the government’s review of the “overall framework and impediments to information sharing between regulators, and with professional bodies, to enable more streamlined and effective regulation”.
Originally published as Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand pinpoints ethics, training in tax scandal repairs
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