Learn how to define conflicts of interest and how to manage the risk they pose to you and your clients.
Whether your clients are individuals, businesses, non-profits, or your own employer, conflicts of interest are nearly unavoidable in the accounting profession. But did you know that these conflicts expose you to the continual risk of ethical violations, professional errors and omissions? This presentation will teach you to identify, evaluate, and effectively disclose conflicts of interest with confidence. You will learn how the profession defines these conflicts and how to manage and neutralize the risk they pose to you and your clients.Learning Objectives
- You will be able to identify what Conflicts of Interest are.
- You will be able to identify why Conflicts of interest matter.
- You will be able to explain a conflict of interest to determine what steps, if any, you must take next.
- You will be able to differentiate between various types of conflicts.
Agenda
What Are Conflicts of Interest, and Why Do They Matter?- The Definition of a Conflict of Interest (Exists in Most Professions)
- AICPA, PCAOB, IRS, States, and State Societies Regulate Conflicts for Accountants
- The Rules, Though, Only Tell You What a Conflict Is, but Not What to Do About It
- The Related Principles of Integrity and Objectivity Provide Critical Guidance
- When You Consider Whether to Take on a Client
- When Your Client Relationships Evolve and Change
- When a Client Asks You to Take on Work of a Different Nature Than You’ve Handled for Them in the Past, e.g., Consulting, Forensics, Buy-Sell
- When You Find More Than a Single Interest Involved
- When You Work With Competitors
- When You Have a Financial Stake
- First Things First: Who Is Your Client?
- Corporate Finance
- Marital Dissolution
- Shareholder Disputes/Freezeouts/Buyouts
- Individual Tax Planning
- Serving on a Board
- Many More Examples
- Does It Feel Right? Integrity and Objectivity Gut Check Revisited
- Operational Considerations: Act Promptly; Consult Legal Counsel; Consider Whether to Notify Your Professional Liability Insurance Carrier of the Situation
- Conflict Waiver Letter Terms and Conditions
- Disengagement Options, Do’s and Don’ts
Speaker(s)
Jonathan S. Ziss, J.D.Goldberg Segalla
- Partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP, a national litigation firm with nearly 500 attorneys
- Co-chair of the firm’s Management & Professional Liability Practice Group, with over 40 years of experience
- A frequent columnist, author, and lecturer on accountant professional liability risk management and avoidance
- Has appeared in CA, CT, DE, FL, MT, NJ, PA, and NY and has represented clients including professional service firms, non-profits, and for-profit businesses in many other states as well
- Successfully argued to the Supreme Court of Delaware, a leading forum for financial litigation, that in an audit malpractice dispute, management’s unclean hands should be a viable defense even if the auditor’s conduct fell below the standard of due care
- Has tried dozens of cases to verdict and has handled countless administrative investigations and proceedings, mediations, and arbitrations
- Chosen to serve as an expert witness in an accountant malpractice case, addressing the enforceability of engagement letters and the differentiation among attestation levels
- Honors graduate of Franklin & Marshall College (elected Phi Beta Kappa); graduate of Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law (staff member, The Villanova Law Review)
