Examining How Auditing Text Books Cover the AICPA¡¯s Conceptual Frameworks for Ethics

The AICPA¡¯s Codification of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Revised Code), issued in June 2014, features two ¡°principle-based¡± conceptual frameworks that employ a ¡°threats and safeguards¡± approach to CPAs¡¯ ethical dilemmas. These 2014 conceptual frameworks reprise concepts and terminology from similar AICPA 2006 and 2008 conceptual frameworks. This article discusses the heightened relevance of principle-based conceptual frameworks and examines how eight major auditing textbooks, all written since the 2006 and 2008 frameworks, cover how contemporary principles-based professional ethics supplement and enhance traditional ¡°rules-based¡± ethics. The results show that few of the eight examined auditing textbooks cover adequately or at all the Code of Professional Conduct¡¯s conceptual frameworks. An appendix presents materials to help auditing professors augment their classroom coverage and to help auditing textbook authors strengthen their future textbook editions.