Official releases; ethics interpretation.

Ethics Interpretation

Ethics interpretations are promulgated by the Professional Ethics Executive Committee to provide guidance as to the scope and application of the rules but are not intended to limit such scope or application. Publication of an interpretation in the Journal of Accountancy constitutes notice to members. A member who departs from interpretations shall have the burden of justifying such departure in any disciplinary hearing.

(The Professional Ethics Executive Committee has made editorial revisions to the introductory paragraph to the interpretations under Rule 101 of the Code of Professional Conduct [AICPA, Professional Standards, ET Section 101.01] to add a reference to the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and delete a reference to rules of the SEC Practice Section for purposes of the interpretations under Rule 101. The remainder of the interpretations is unchanged. Added text is in boldface; deleted text is [begin strike through] struck through.) [end strike through]

INTERPRETATIONS UNDER RULE 101--INDEPENDENCE

In performing an attest engagement, a member should consult the rules of his or her state board of accountancy, his or her state CPA society, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if the member's report will be filed with the SEC, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) if the member's report will be filed with the DOL, [begin strike through] the AICPA SEC Practice Section (SECPS) if the memeber's firm is a member of the SECPS [end strike through], the [begin strike through] General [end strike through] Government Accountability [begin strike through] Accounting [end strike through] Off (GAO) if law, regulation, agreement, policy or contract requires the member's report to be filed under GAO regulations, and any organization that issues or enforces standards of independence that would apply to the member's engagement. Such organizations may have independence requirements or rulings that differ from (e.g., may be more restrictive than) those of the AICPA.

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