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IESBA: New Staff Publication re Ethical Considerations for Accountants using Emerging Technologies
- 23 July 2026
- Miscellaneous
- South African Accounting Academy
Summary:
The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has released a new publication, Emerging Technologies: A Characteristics-Based Approach to Ethical Considerations for Professional Accountants, to support professional accountants as they develop, implement, or use emerging technologies in public practice and business.
Article:
The publication provides timely thought leadership by offering an overview of the ethical implications of emerging technologies commonly used across the accountancy profession, including artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies, machine learning, quantum computing, and robotic process automation. Rather than focusing only on individual technologies, the guidance takes a durable, characteristic-based approach designed to remain relevant as technologies continue to evolve.
The guidance enumerates key characteristics associated with emerging technologies – such as opacity, non-determinism, dependence on data, perpetual adaptivity, autonomy, scalability, and speed – and explains how they may create or amplify threats to compliance with the fundamental principles in the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards). These fundamental principles include integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour.
The publication emphasizes that, regardless of the level of automation or technological sophistication involved, professional accountants remain responsible for the judgments and decisions made in their work. It also underscores the importance of applying the Code’s conceptual framework with an inquiring mind, professional judgment, and appropriate human oversight when evaluating technology-driven outputs. It further highlights that maintaining professional competence and due care in an environment of rapidly evolving technologies requires an ongoing commitment to continuous learning and the development of appropriate technological literacy.
This staff publication marks the beginning of a sequence of future technology-related guidance for accountants. The IESBA plans to complement the characteristic-based publication with more practical, technology-specific materials, with the first such guidance expected to focus on AI.
Based on input from Staff of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the publication highlights links to the parallel work that the IAASB is undertaking on Technology Quality Management. The IESBA will continue to coordinate with the IAASB regarding its technology-related activities to reinforce the connectivity and interoperability of the IESBA Code with the IAASB’s quality management and engagement standards.
Click here to download the 16-page document:
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
As an accountant, auditor and independent reviewer, you need to be aware of and consider the information contained in publications by various professional bodies and standard-setters, e.g. IESBA, IAASB, etc. – so that you can apply this in the performance of your duties – especially with regards to the use of emerging technologies and the related ethics.