这个是针对CPA Australia的专业会计考试

Ethics and governance is a core component of the knowledge and skill base of today's professional accountants. As key business decision makers, accountants must be proficient in regulatory regimes, compliance requirements, and governance mechanisms to ensure lawful and effective corporate behaviour and operations. A better understanding of ethics, corporate governance frameworks and mechanisms links with the various roles and responsibilities outlined in other subjects of the CPA Program. From an individual perspective, this subject provides you with the analytical and decision-making skills and knowledge to identify and resolve professional and ethical issues. The skills and knowledge obtained are also important for subjects that specialise in the functional disciplines of accounting such as Advanced Taxation, Financial Reporting, Strategic Management Accounting and Advanced Audit and Assurance.

More than ever, today's professional accountants are less involved in traditional accounting functions and are more concerned with leadership and management. Today’s accountants are leaders in their field providing key support to senior management and are directly involved in many important decisions. An understanding of ethics and governance is essential to those in leadership roles, and to those who support their leaders. This subject not only develops an awareness of corporate governance but also helps members (and those whom they support) in discharging their stewardship functions.

Ethics and Governance is a compulsory subject in the CPA Program for candidates commencing from semester 2, 2009. It is recommended that you enrol in Ethics and Governance as part of your first enrolment.

Exam structure

The Ethics and Governance exam is comprised of a combination of multiple choice and written response questions.

Subject aims

The subject has three key aims:

• promoting awareness of the ethical responsibilities of professional accountants, thereby enabling them to identify and resolve ethical issues or conflicts throughout their career
• ensuring professional accountants understand the importance of governance, including their role in achieving effective governance
• understanding the role of accounting, and of accountants, in providing information about the social and environmental performance of an organisation
  

General objectives

This subject provides you with the knowledge and skills required of the professional accountant to operate effectively in a demanding and dynamic global business environment. This subject is designed to ensure the development of a range of professional ethics, values and attitudes among professional accountants.

On completion of this subject, you should be able to:

• explain, from a global perspective, the nature of the accounting profession and the roles of professional accountants
• apply the key professional responsibilities of an accountant from the perspective of a member of CPA Australia
• explain the importance of ethics and professional judgment
• describe key governance and regulatory frameworks, including international perspectives on corporate governance and the roles of various stakeholders
• explain the expectations placed on various internal and external stakeholders arising from organisational governance responsibilities
• ascertain various compliance and regulatory regimes impacting the global business environment
• identify the strategic, leadership and global issues impacting accountants and the accounting profession
• describe the nature, role and importance of corporate social responsibility, including climate change and sustainable development.
  

Module 1: Accounting and society

This module considers what it means to be a professional accountant and examines the wide range of capabilities and skills required to be a professional accountant. Professional accounting is more than the application of technical knowledge. It must also be understood as a social force that effects changes on organisations, people and their lives and on entire societies. It is therefore important to ensure that the accounting profession has a positive impact on society. The module also explores various environments in which accountants work and the pressures that can challenge a professional accountant. While criticisms of professions (including accounting) are sometimes made, in responding to these criticisms, the module emphasises the value that accounting can and does bring to society.

Contents:

Part A: Accountants as members of a profession

• What is a profession?
• What is a professional?
• Professions—the ‘market control’ view
• Trust and professions
• Attributes of the accounting profession
  

Part B: Interaction with society

• Accounting roles, activities and relationships
• Social impact of accounting
• Credibility of the profession
• Capability considerations
  

Module 2: Ethics

This module discusses the practical implications of professional ethics based on the notion of the public interest. The module provides an overview of ethical approachesthat guide accountants to help them resolve complex ethical dilemmas. It also provides a detailed analysis of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (APES 110) and demonstrates how to apply this Code when addressing specific ethical issues. The module also describes the factors that influence ethical decision-making and outlines a structured approach to decision-making that may lead to better decisions.