Professional Fiduciary Duty

Overview

This outline and lecture presentation develops and applies the professional fiduciary duty heightened legal standard requirements to the practice of the average individual CPA and CPA firm. Covered is many of the potentially high-risk fiduciary roles that may arise in a typical CPA firm practice. The AICPA’s recent ethics “re-codification” elevates a CPA’s conflicts of interest and fiduciary duty rules by strongly suggesting that a written detailed risk analysis and potential safeguards offset should be made on every significant client engagement. Portions of the new AICPA’s conflict of interest emphasis seems to heighten the chances that standard CPA engagements may be deemed to rise to the fiduciary duty higher danger category level. Such relationships usually receive increased judicial scrutiny.

Highlights

Fiduciary Duty Relationship Requirements, AICPA Position, Legal Standard Aggravator, Problematic Fiduciary Engagements, Elderly /Probate/Trust Engagements, Trustee Tax & Erisa, Competition with Client, Investment Advice in Financial Planning, Directorships Corporate and Charitable, For Profit Corporations, Not-For-Profit Entity, Suggested CPA Director Fiduciary Safeguards, Table of Reported Cases Presented.

Prerequisites

None

Designed For

CPAs in Public or Industry

Objectives

This course focuses on various CPA roles that could create and/or aggravate the fiduciary role and therefore potential liability.

Notice

Does not qualify for WA State Ethics