CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY

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1 CPA New Brunswick 860 Main Street Suite 602 Moncton NB CANADA E1C 1G2 T F CPA Nouveau-Brunswick 860 rue Main Bureau 602 Moncton (N.-B.) CANADA E1C 1G2 T Télec CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY Description Originated Reviewed Approved Updated 2 nd Release CPA New Brunswick CPA New Brunswick Staff CPA New Brunswick Board October 11, 2017 CPA New Brunswick s Continuing Professional Development requirements are closely aligned with the nationally recommended requirements of CPA Canada and the internationally accepted best practices of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For the purposes of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) reporting, Members are categorized as either Active or Inactive members. A list of frequently asked question regarding CPD is at the end of this policy for further information. CATEGORY OF MEMBERS Active Member An Active Member with CPA New Brunswick is a Member who is actively employed or self-employed and earns income related to the provision of services that use the skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through a Member s professional training, education or experience as a CPA. Members will also be considered Active if they serve on a Board or Audit committee (or the equivalent) of: A public company or reporting issuer or other public interest entity such as, but not limited to, large charities, foundations, hospitals, health authorities, and publicly funded educational institutions or social service agencies where the financial statements are expected to be widely used by various stakeholders (public, CRA, government, etc.); or Any other organization where they are remunerated in excess of $5,000 per year for their service. Active Members are required to adhere to all CPD requirements as mentioned in the completion requirements section below. 1

2 Inactive Member Inactive Members shall be those persons who are unable to maintain an Active or Active Associate membership due to temporary personal circumstances. Inactive Members are Members who are no longer involved in any activity (paid or unpaid) where it is reasonable to believe that another party may be relying on the skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through the Member s professional training, education, development or experience. It is reasonable to believe that another party may be relying on a Member s skills, knowledge, experience, or competence where: Level I Risk: The Member is remunerated, directly or indirectly, for their service irrespective of whether they are involved in accounting fields or other professional areas; or The Member serves on the board or similar governing body, or an audit, finance or similar governance committee of a public company, reporting issuer as contemplated by Rule 204 of the CPA New Brunswick Code of Professional Conduct, or of a large or prominent organization such as, but not limited to, large or prominent charities, foundations, associations, hospitals, health authorities, publicly funded educational institutions and social service agencies; or The Member works in the practice of public accounting or other regulated services. Furthermore, where a Member does not perform any of the roles outlined above in Level I Risk, it is still reasonable to believe that another party may be relying on a Member s skills, knowledge, experience or competence where: Level II Risk: The Member is filling a volunteer role which involves signing financial statements, information returns or other government filings, grant applications or similar documents for an organization; or The Member volunteers on a finance, audit or similar governance committee of an organization; or The Member volunteers as the Chair of the governing body of an organization; or The Member is looked to for financial guidance from other members of the organization, such that the member may be held to a higher level of accountability by the organization and its stakeholders if something went wrong financially. 2

3 Permanently Inactive Members Members who are considered permanently Inactive are those who have no intention of returning to the Active status. Examples of Permanently Inactive Members include Members who: Are Retired; Are Infirm, in cases where a member is permanently withdrawn from employment and other professional activity due to a long-term critical, terminal or chronic medical condition; and Have other special circumstances. Retired Members shall be former Active or Active Associate Members who wish to maintain their CPA designation but are no longer working. Any application to be considered as a Retired Member shall be submitted to the Registrar for approval based on supporting documentation and must be renewed annually for the first five years of retirement. Temporarily Inactive Members Members who are considered temporarily Inactive are those who have a reasonable expectation of returning to the Active status at some point in the future. Examples of Temporarily Inactive Members include Members who: Are on Maternity/Paternity leave; Are caring for a child or children; Are caring for a family member with a critical, terminal or chronic medical condition; Have a Personal medical illness or condition (needs to be evidenced by a medical certificate or other supporting documentation), for a continuous period not to exceed 5 years; and Have other special circumstances. Any application to become an Inactive Member shall be submitted to the Registrar for approval based on supporting documentation and must be renewed annually. Exemptions/Reductions of CPD Requirements: a) Permanently Inactive Members are exempt from CPD requirements and are exempt from reporting CPD. 3

4 b) Temporarily inactive members are granted on a yearly basis a temporary exemption from CPD requirements as appropriate for their circumstances. Temporarily Inactive Members who remain Inactive for a period greater than 5 years are deemed to return to the Active status for at least one year and accordingly must complete at least the annual CPD requirements for one year (20 hours, of which at least 10 hours must be Verifiable). c) Members who are otherwise Inactive but serve in a capacity listed under Level I Risk, must comply with CPD requirements. (See Appendix A) d) Members who are otherwise Inactive and are not involved in any Level 1 Risk activities but are involved in Level II Risk activities, are granted a reduction in CPD requirements of ½ of the annual and 3 year requirements (other than the professional ethics requirement where no reduction is granted). Accordingly, the minimum requirements are 10 hours annually, of which at least 5 hours must be Verifiable; and 60 hours every 3 year rolling cycle, of which at least 30 hours must be Verifiable, including at least 4 hours of professional ethics. e) Unemployed members seeking employment are not Inactive Members and therefore must comply with the CPD requirements. Please review the CPD criteria model in Appendix A to determine if you are an Active Member or an Inactive Member. COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS CPD is learning that develops and maintains professional competence to enable members to continue to perform their professional roles. Any learning and development that is relevant and appropriate to a member s work and professional responsibilities and growth as a CPA will qualify for CPD. CPD includes Verifiable and Unverifiable learning activities. 4

5 Requirements Every CPA Active Member shall complete a minimum of 120 hours of CPD every three year rolling period including a minimum of 20 hours annually. At least half of the minimum required hours must be represented by verifiable CPD hours (60 hours of CPD every rolling three year period and 10 hours of CPD hours annually). In addition to this, effective January 1 st, 2017, Members, unless otherwise exempt, must complete a minimum of four hours of verifiable CPD in professional ethics in each three year rolling cycle. Please note that there are no requirements for years prior to that date. Furthermore this three year rolling period is independent of your current rolling period. For example, if you became a member in 2015 your 3 year rolling cycle to complete your 120 hours of CPD is January 2015 to December 31, However, your rolling cycle to complete the 4 hours of Ethics will be January 1, 2017 to December 31, CPD hours may not be carried over from one period to the next to cover the minimum requirement hours. An Active Member could be eligible for CPD hours reduction under special circumstances. See the CPD criteria model in the Appendix A for more details. Verifiable versus Unverifiable CPD hours For the purpose of qualifying CPD hours the learning activities must offer significant intellectual or practical content that provides a Member the opportunity to develop new or existing competencies in areas that are relevant to a Member s professional responsibilities and growth. Learning activities that result in evidence that the learning activity was undertaken are considered to be Verifiable. Examples of these are listed below. Any uncertainty should be discussed with CPA New Brunswick. Unverifiable learning activities do not result in evidence that the learning activity was undertaken. 5

6 Appropriate learning activities are circumstance-specific and each Member requires different professional competencies. Therefore, the choice of relevant learning activities must be considered in the context of each Member s own professional responsibilities. According to Section Fundamental Principles Governing Conduct Professional Competence of the CPA New Brunswick Code of Professional Conduct Chartered Professional Accountants maintain their professional skills and competence by keeping informed of, and complying with, developments in their area of professional service. Verifiable CPD hours: Verifiable CPD refers to learning activities that can be verified objectively. Examples of Verifiable CPD hours include: Volunteer and community leadership contributing to professional competency; Participation in professional courses, conferences, and seminars; Self-directed learning to prepare for an exam without a structured study program, and passing the exam; On-the-job training; major change in job responsibilities, major involvement in special projects, significant learning of new software, systems, and procedures; Developing or delivering a course or CPD session, whenever there is a new or refreshed learning experience; Formal study of courses leading to a degree, certificate, or diploma; Participation as a speaker in conferences, briefing sessions, or discussion groups; Writing articles, papers, or books of a technical, professional, or academic nature; Professional re-examination or formal testing; or Providing or receiving professional development support as a facilitator, mentor, or coach. Unverifiable CPD hours: Unverifiable CPD refers to learning activities that cannot be verified objectively. Examples of Unverifiable CPD hours are: Technical reading, self-study of published materials, self-study courses; or Research, including reading professional literature or journals, for application in the professional accountant s role. 6

7 Additional Guidance: Volunteer or pro-bono work may only qualify as verifiable or unverifiable CPD to the extent it meets the above definitions. Members are advised to maintain a file of their CPD activities and are required to provide, on request, documentation supporting the CPD reported for a period of 5 years. Following are the categories and limits when reporting CPD hours online. Categories Limits 1. Instructor/Lecturer No limit (Only initial offering recognized or any given significant content change) 2. Attendance at seminars, No limit conferences, in-house training, webinars 3. Research (delivered or No limit published) 4. In-House Training No limit 5. Formal Study No limit 6. Writing and Publishing No limit 7. On-the-job Learning Limit of 20 hours for the 3 year rolling period. (Major changes in job responsibilities or special projects) 8. Volunteering Limit of 30 hours for the 3 year rolling period. 9. Technical reading, self-study, reading professional literature or journals No limit 7

8 New Members New members joining the provincial body through a Canadian certification program will be granted an exemption from CPD requirements for the calendar year in which they join as a member, provided they have completed their period of study in the same year, or the immediately preceding year, of admission to membership. Effective on January 1 for the calendar year following admission to membership the annual and three year rolling CPD requirements will commence. Transfer Members A new Member joining CPA New Brunswick, shall complete the minimum of 120 hours of CPD every three-year rolling period including the minimum of 20 hours annually. However, all CPD hours completed during the three year rolling period and prior to the transfer from another province could be considered by CPA New Brunswick. Supporting documentation of the CPD hours completed will need to be provided. Exemption from requirements An application for exemption from CPD requirements by Temporarily Inactive Members must be completed in writing and such application must be approved by CPA New Brunswick. Upon change of status, such that a member no longer qualifies for exemption, the Member must resume reporting immediately. It is important to note that Members who are Inactive are also governed by the concept of reliance on CPA skills. Where such reliance exists (see Level I Risk and Level II Risk in Category of Members section above) during the period of leave, a Member who might otherwise be exempt would no longer be eligible for exemption from minimum CPD requirements. CPD exemptions are established as separate and distinct from fee waivers. Members returning to the workforce Members who return to the workforce after claiming an exemption from minimum CPD requirements for more than one year for any reason must prepare and submit for approval to CPA New Brunswick, and execute in a timely manner a plan which will develop the current competencies necessary to support the Member s reintegration into the workforce. 8

9 COMPLIANCE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS On or before January 31st of every year, every Active Member shall file his/her report online through mycpawebservices.ca with respect to the Member s CPD activities during the previous calendar year. Each Member shall be responsible for identifying the CPD hours that were completed and enter them with CPA New Brunswick. Every Active Member shall retain documentation to support the verifiable learning activities that were reported on the Member s detailed compliance report made either electronically or in paper form for at least 5 years from date of reporting. Verifiable CPD documentation should: Describe the learning activity; Identify the provider of the activity, where applicable; Connect the member to the activity; Identify when the activity took place; and Provide a basis for concluding that the number of reported hours is reasonable. Such documentation shall be retained for five years after the completion of any particular year and may include certificates of completion, transcripts, evidence of attendance at conferences and seminars, published work, presentations, reports or other such documentation or evidence of completion as may be available. NON-COMPLIANCE WITH CPD REQUIREMENTS In the event of non-compliance, the following steps will be followed: A notice of non-compliance will be sent advising the Member that should they remain noncompliant, they will be suspended. Furthermore, it would indicate the timing of suspension and the ramifications of such suspension. The deficiency may be reported by the Registrar to the Complaints Committee as a complaint (see By-Law 23.02). The notice will also advise the Member of the deadline to become compliant. 9

10 In the event that the person who received the notice of non-compliance fails to provide the required compliance report within two months after the date of notice as mentioned in the section above, a suspension letter will be sent to the Member, which describes the ramifications of being suspended and what needs to be done to be reinstated. The Member shall be suspended from membership. The suspended Member may be returned to membership in good standing by filing the required compliance report accompanied by the required reinstatement fees (see By-Law 23.04). Non-compliance with the CPD requirements will result in a late penalty fee of $

11 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) 1) Am I required to take any mandatory courses? The CPD program does not mandate areas of study, other than four hours of professional ethics every three year rolling cycle. Note however that you must meet the professional competence requirement of Rule 203 of the CPA New Brunswick Code of Professional Conduct. You should choose learning opportunities that are relevant to your CPA professional role. Take an inventory of your skills and consider whether you allocate sufficient time to building or refreshing the various skills and competencies needed to do your job well. Qualifying CPD is not limited to accounting, assurance, tax or other technical areas. Consider, for example, whether you have the range of soft skills (leadership, communication, etc.) and sufficient knowledge about your particular industry. Selection of learning activities should be a thoughtful, reflective process addressing your current and future professional plans, current knowledge and skill level, and desired or needed additional competence to meet future opportunities and/or professional responsibilities. 2) How do I know whether a course offered by a third party will qualify for verifiable CPD credit? Provincial bodies do not accredit course providers. As long as the course allows you to develop and maintain professional competency to enable you to continue to perform your professional role, it will qualify for CPD. Any learning and development that is relevant and appropriate to your work and professional responsibilities and growth as a CPA will qualify for CPD. 3) What type of support do I need for verifiable CPD? Verifiable CPD should be supported by certificates of completion, confirmation of registration, attendance records, or such other evidence that can objectively verify completion of the learning activity. At a minimum, supporting documentation should: Describe the learning activity; Identify the provider of the activity, if applicable; Connect the member to the activity; Identify when the activity took place; and Provide a basis for concluding that the number of reported hours is reasonable. 11

12 Although supporting documentation need not be submitted with the annual CPD report, it should be retained, as a sample of members are requested to provide further documentation for verification each year. 4) How long do I need to keep my CPD records? You are required to maintain documentation supporting the completion of your Verifiable CPD learning activities for five years after each reporting year. For example, for 2015 CPD, you are required to retain CPD documentation until December 31, 2020 for all learning activities undertaken in ) What activities qualify under volunteer or pro-bono work, such as sitting on a Board of Directors? The activity must help you to develop and maintain professional competence to enable you to continue to perform your professional role. For example, sitting on a Board of Directors or on an audit committee does not in itself qualify for CPD, however certain aspects of the role may qualify, such as participation in technical discussions and receiving or delivering presentations that help Board members make more informed decisions and help with their oversight responsibility. 6) Does on-the-job learning related to major changes in job responsibilities, involvement in special projects, significant learning of new software, systems, procedures or techniques, qualify as CPD? The activity must help you to develop and maintain professional competency to enable you to continue to perform your professional role. Hours related to the above activities may qualify for CPD, and for Verifiable CPD subject to supporting documentation being available to verify the learning activity. Please check with CPA New Brunswick to confirm if the activity would qualify and about any limitations on qualifying hours. 7) What qualifies as technical reading and self-study? The following are examples of items which qualify for technical reading: Professional magazine articles relating to accounting, taxation, finance, management or other technical subjects Newspaper articles relating to your current and/or future field or industry Self-study of published materials Self-study courses 12

13 8) I no longer perform traditional accounting work. Do I still need to do CPD? Yes. Professional role is defined in the broadest sense. You should engage in learning activities that are relevant to your current or future professional roles. Those learning activities do not necessarily have to include accounting, tax or assurance courses. Take an inventory of your current skills and competencies and consider whether you allocate sufficient time to building or refreshing the various skills and competencies you need to do your job well. Consider whether you have the range of soft skills (leadership, communication, etc.) and sufficient knowledge in your particular industry. The time you spend acquiring these skills and industry knowledge all count towards your CPD requirements. Selection of learning activities should be a thoughtful, reflective process addressing your current and future professional plans, current knowledge and skill level, and desired or needed additional competence to meet future opportunities and/or professional responsibilities. 9) What does not qualify? CPD activities are expected to develop and maintain professional competence to enable you to continue to perform your professional role. Any learning and development that is relevant and appropriate to your work and professional responsibilities and growth as a CPA will qualify for CPD. What may not qualify is difficult to generalize, as relevance may be a question of perspective and therefore needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Based on these criteria, examples of activities that would not qualify for CPD include: Language courses Attendance at an Annual General Meeting Coaching sports teams Acquiring new skills that are not directly related to your professional role as a CPA, such as sports and skills relating to physical fitness, recreation and hobbies. It is acknowledged that these skills may be an important part of your life and your balance, however they do not count towards CPD. CPD related to other professional skills, but unrelated to competencies as a CPA, for example, medical procedure updates for a member who is also a medical professional. 13

14 10) I am a member of another provincial CPA body in Canada. Are all the CPD requirements identical now? All provincial bodies in Canada have adopted international CPD standards and for the most part have harmonized CPD requirements and administration. However, there may remain certain differences at a more detailed level, sometimes due to differing legislation. If you are a member of more than one provincial CPA body, please contact the other bodies to ensure that you meet all CPD requirements. 11) What happens if I do not comply with the CPD requirements? Under CPA New Brunswick By-Laws and Regulations, non-compliance with CPD requirements leads to suspension of membership. This is necessary to ensure that we maintain public trust and uphold the reputation of the CPA designation. Having said that, there are a variety of CPD exemptions available please check the CPA New Brunswick website for a description of exemptions. Further, if you believe you have a valid reason for not complying with the CPD requirements, you should submit a written request to CPA New Brunswick to consider your circumstances. 12) I became a member part-way through the calendar year, when do I start taking CPD? That depends: New members joining CPA New Brunswick through a Canadian certification program will be granted relief of CPD requirements for the calendar year in which they join as a member, provided they have completed their period of study in the same year, or the immediately preceding year, of admission to membership. Effective on January 1 for the calendar year following admission to membership the annual and three year rolling CPD requirements will commence. The following are examples of how the above exemption would work in all cases, the candidate completes their period of study, including passing the CFE in 2015: The new member who completes the experience requirement in 2015 and is admitted to membership in 2015, would be granted an exemption from CPD for The new member who completes the experience requirement in 2016 and is admitted to membership in 2016, would be granted an exemption from CPD for 2016 The new member who completes the experience requirement in 2017 and is admitted to membership in 2017 would not be granted an exemption from CPD in 2017, as this new member has not been required to perform any CPD since

15 13) Are there any limitations on learning activities that qualify for CPD? No, there are no formal limits or maximums on learning activities. It is up to the member to determine the learning activities that best suit their professional role. However, the expectation is that the member take a balanced approach towards CPD, and therefore not generally derive all CPD hours from the same source or the same topic. 14) I am a retired CPA, however I work part-time at Home Depot in the plumbing department. Do I need to undertake CPD? No, you are not required to undertake CPD. The public is clearly not relying on your skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through your professional training, education, development or experience as a CPA. 15) I am a semi-retired CPA, working part-time as a controller for a start-up company. I earn about $25,000 per year. Do I need to undertake CPD? Yes, you are required to undertake CPD. Even though your income may be low, or you are only working part-time, it is reasonable to believe that another party may be relying on your skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through your professional training, education, development or experience as a CPA. Income level is not a good indicator of the extent of reliance on competence. As such, you should be held to the standards of competence of the profession and meet the full CPD requirements. 16) I am the CEO of a medium sized company. While I happen to be a CPA, my CEO role does not require the skills of a CPA. I have a CFO on my team who is a CPA and looks after all of the financial aspects of the business. Do I need to undertake CPD? Yes, you are required to undertake CPD. Many of our members serve in a wide variety of senior and executive roles where it is reasonable to believe that another party may be relying on their skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through their professional training, education, development or experience as a CPA. As such, you should be held to the standards of competence of the profession and meet the full CPD requirements. You should engage in learning activities that are relevant to your current or future professional roles. 15

16 17) I am a retired CPA and do not earn any income from paid work, however I do serve on the Board of the United Way. Do I need to undertake CPD? Yes, you are required to undertake CPD. The public (including your fellow Board members) might very reasonably believe you bring a certain expertise to the Board because of your CPA background and may therefore be relying on your skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through your professional training, education, development or experience. As such, you should be held to the standards of competence of the profession and meet the full CPD requirements. 18) I am a CPA on medical leave, however I am able to work part-time arranging and delivering flowers for a florist shop. Do I need to undertake CPD? No, you are not required to undertake CPD. The public is clearly not relying on your skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through your professional training, experience or education as a CPA. 19) I am a CPA who owns and operates a florist shop. Do I need to undertake CPD? Yes, you are required to undertake CPD. You are running a business and are ultimately responsible for the financial statements and tax return. It is reasonable to believe that others (for example, the bank, or CRA) may be relying on your skills, knowledge, experience or competencies gained through your professional training, education, development or experience as a CPA. As such, you should be held to the standards of competence of the profession and meet the full CPD requirements. 20) I am a CPA on parental leave. I volunteer with the local not-for-profit pre-school program that my toddlers attend. As part of my role, I reconcile the bank statements monthly and prepare a simple cash flow statement that is made available to the other parents. I do not prepare or sign any tax or information returns. Do I need to undertake CPD? No, you are not required to undertake CPD. While the work involves some bookkeeping skill, it is not at a level that would reasonably be seen to require the skills, knowledge, experience or competencies of a CPA. You may qualify for a Temporary Exemption for up to 5 years. 21) Further to my question above (Question 20), I have now been asked to prepare and sign a grant application for provincial funding for the pre-school program because the rest of the directors of the program have no business background. The grant application requires detailed financial information as well as information related to the pre-school s programs and compliance with provincial standards of care. Do I need to undertake CPD? Yes, you are required to undertake CPD, however you may qualify for a Partial Exemption. You are now in a situation where the rest of the Board as well as the provincial funding agency may be relying on your skills, knowledge, experience or competencies as a CPA in preparing the grant application. 16

17 However, as this is considered a lower level of risk, you are eligible for a Partial Exemption. The Partial Exemption is not a matter of being partially qualified, but rather is a matter of less risk to the public and therefore less CPD required, while still encouraging members to serve. Under a Partial Exemption, CPD is reduced to 10 hours annually, of which at least 5 hours must be verifiable, and 60 hours each 3 year rolling cycle, of which at least 30 hours must be verifiable, of which at least 4 hours must be in professional ethics. 22) I have been a stay-at-home parent for the past 5 years and have been granted a Temporary Exemption from CPD. I plan to continue as a stay-at-home parent for the foreseeable future. Now that 5 years is up, do I need to undertake CPD? Can I qualify for a Full Exemption? Yes, you are required to undertake CPD for at least one year. The annual requirement is 20 hours, of which at least 10 must be verifiable. After this one year, you may qualify for a Temporary Exemption for up to another 5 years. The category of temporarily inactive members is for those members who are temporarily inactive, but have a reasonable expectation of returning to active status at some point in the future. The purpose of this category is to give our members relief from CPD requirements during a temporary period of being inactive. Even if a member remains inactive, for example, to raise a family, there are nonetheless obligations of being a member, including CPD. Temporarily inactive members remain entitled to hold themselves out as CPAs and a maximum period of 5 continuous years of being inactive is considered a reasonable balance between granting relief to our members while ensuring that the obligations associated with being a member are upheld. No, you do not qualify for a Permanent Exemption. The category of permanently inactive members is for those members who have no intention, or in cases of infirmity, no ability to return to active status. This category is not intended to be fluid, with members coming and going. Rather, the spirit of this category is for members who truly believe they will never return to active status. 23) Do I have Ethics requirements? Yes. Effective January 1 st, 2017, members are required to take 4 hours of verifiable professional ethics each 3 year rolling cycle, unless you are exempt from CPD requirements. 24) Do I need to take a specific CPA PD Ethics course, or can I fulfill this requirement through other sources? Just like all verifiable learning activities, the 4 hour ethics requirement can be fulfilled in a variety of ways, including coursework, whether through a CPA body or other sources, and other relevant learning activities including verifiable structured ethics training in the workplace. The 4 hours can be accumulated from a variety of sources; it does not have to come from one single program. 17

18 25) Why does CPA have a mandatory ethics requirement? A CPD ethics requirement encourages members to uphold the CPA New Brunswick Code of Professional Conduct and continuously evaluate their professional ethics. One way to help is through CPD whereby we can discuss with professional colleagues the challenges, complexities, and risks faced with ethical decision-making. 26) Can ethics be taught? This has been debated for centuries. Some scholars and academics say yes and some say no. Socrates position (2,500 years ago) was that ethics consists of knowing what we ought to do, and such knowledge can be taught. One approach to teaching professional ethics is focusing on the different moral philosophies and looking at personal approaches to making ethical decisions. Regular consideration of how to navigate ethical conflicts and decision-making can be helpful. 27) Why teach ethics? Ethical decision-making will occur throughout one s professional career and at times professional ethics can be a difficult area to manage or adhere to. This may be especially true in areas such as accounting, finance, and business where there can be complex issues, grey areas and pressures to compromise high ethical standards for the bottom line. 18