Given the recent spate of financial and accounting scandals, greater attention has been placed on the importance of strong ethical behavior on the part of all CPAs, especially those auditing and advising large corporations. In a recent conversation with The CPA Journal, Stavros Thomadakis, PhD, discussed the board’s role in ensuring professional accountants around the world adhere to the highest ethical principles. Thomadakis is an emeritus professor of financial economics at the University of Athens who has served as Chair of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) since January 1, 2015. He stresses the need for accountants, and for other professionals, to have fundamental ethical principles that they follow.
