This course explores contemporary ethical challenges facing CPAs, focusing on how integrity, critical thinking, and professional judgment guide decision-making in an evolving business and technological landscape. Participants will examine emerging issues such as ethical impact of AI hallucinations, data privacy, cyber security, money laundering risks, and ESG climate risk reporting to better understand their responsibilities as ethical leaders in the profession.

Please note that this course does not provide detailed technical instruction on developing generative AI, meeting privacy legislation requirements, implementing full ESG reporting frameworks, or achieving compliance under PCMLTFA.

• CPAs seeking to build awareness of ethical implications related to generative AI; data privacy and cyber security. 
• CPAs who are new to ESG considerations or the evolving beneficial registry requirements under AML/ATF regulations. 

By the end of this course, participants should be able to: 

• Apply critical thinking to assess emerging ethical trends affecting the profession. 
• Evaluate ethical considerations related to AI, data privacy, and technological change. 
• Interpret how the principle of integrity applies to non-financial reporting factors such as ESG and DEI. 
• Identify key responsibilities under anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing requirements. 
• Assess the ethical dimensions of corporate governance, including Tone at the Top, stakeholder communication, and organizational values. 

Topics include: 

• Ethics in the CPA profession, including integrity, ethical decision-making frameworks, and the implication of ethical drift when setting the Tone at the Top.
• Emerging technological trends such as AI hallucination, cyber security considerations, and ethical risks associated with automation and digital tools.
• Financial crime topics including money laundering and terrorist financing regulatory expectations, and the benefits of the beneficial ownership registry with practical case examples.
• ESG, DEI, Indigenous considerations, sustainability reporting, and climate risk disclosure standards.
• Practical tools, case studies, polls, and assessments to support application of ethical principles across business contexts.

Course Content Created: April 2025

Presenters

About This Product

On-Demand Courses by CPA PRO are either video recordings from live seminars, or video recordings produced specifically for the on-demand audience. Slides and any corresponding handout materials are included where available.These titles are eligible for Verifiable CPD Hours – in order to claim these hours as verifiable, you will be required to successfully complete a short quiz. You will be able to print or save your electronic certificate of completion.

Note that some courses comprise both formal instruction and self-directed exercises. In such cases, participants must complete both components to claim full CPD hours, or must reduce their reported CPD hours accordingly.

Please note that not all on-demand courses include downloadable materials such as course notes or slides.

How to get started

Upon completion of purchase, go to mylms.bccpa.ca and log in using your CPABC Online Services credentials. Click “Go to your Courses and Materials” to go to your Learning Center, then find and click on your course title.