Ethics Real Talk Series Session 6 - Beyond My Lane: Ethics, Competence and the Risk of Over-Advising
CPD Hours: 2
Price: R450.00
Ethics Real Talk Series Session 6 - Beyond My Lane: Ethics, Competence and the Risk of Over-Advising
Presenters : Caryn Maitland CA(SA)
Overview
As the role of accountants continues to evolve, practitioners are increasingly expected to provide guidance beyond traditional accounting and financial reporting functions. While this presents opportunities to add value to clients, it also creates significant ethical, legal, professional and reputational risks when advice is provided outside a practitioner's competence, experience, authority or agreed scope of work.
Many ethical failures do not arise from dishonesty but from misplaced confidence, informal advice, advisory creep, or a desire to be helpful. Understanding where professional competence begins and ends is essential for protecting clients, maintaining public trust, and safeguarding one's professional standing.
This webinar explores the ethical principle of professional competence and due care, helping practitioners identify competence boundaries, manage advisory risks, and develop practical approaches for determining when to accept, limit, refer or decline professional engagements. Through practical examples and case studies, attendees will learn how to remain commercially valuable while avoiding the dangers of professional overreach.
Join Caryn Maitland CA(SA) as she examines the ethical and professional risks associated with over-advising, provides practical tools for managing competence boundaries, and equips practitioners to deliver responsible, high-quality professional services.
Learning objectives
Attending this webinar will equip you with the following skills:
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Understanding the ethical principles of professional competence and due care in advisory engagements
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Identifying competence boundaries across various specialist advisory areas
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Recognising ethical, legal, reputational and professional indemnity risks associated with over-advising
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Applying a practical competence boundary framework to professional engagements
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Strengthening engagement management through improved scope definition, documentation and referral practices
Content
The webinar will cover the following topics:
• Introduction: The Modern Accountant as an All-Purpose Advisor
o The expanding role of accountants in practice and business
o Client expectations and commercial pressure
o Advisory creep and informal advice
o Professional exposure versus professional assistance
o Ethical failures arising from misplaced confidence
• Ethical Framework and Professional Responsibilities
o Professional competence and due care
o Integrity and objectivity in advisory engagements
o Professional behaviour and public trust
o Confidentiality and responsible use of client information
o Public interest responsibilities of professional accountants
o Ethical threats arising from overconfidence, familiarity and self-interest
o Safeguards against competence-related ethical threats
• Competence Boundaries in Professional Advisory Work
o Technical competence versus commercial awareness
o Knowledge, skill, experience and professional judgement
o Acting outside one's area of expertise
o Specialist areas requiring additional expertise
o Tax advisory boundaries
o Trust law and fiduciary responsibilities
o Companies Act compliance and company secretarial advice
o POPIA and PAIA compliance advisory services
o Estate planning and deceased estate administration
o Business valuations and financial modelling
o Payroll, labour law and employment-related advice
o B-BBEE advisory and verification risks
o Internal controls and governance advisory
o Dispute support, expert reports and litigation-related work
• The Competence Boundary Test
o Understanding applicable legal, regulatory and financial reporting frameworks
o Understanding client facts, context and commercial substance
o Identifying knowledge gaps and limitations
o Determining when specialist expertise is required
o Clarifying scope, assumptions, exclusions and limitations
o Defensibility before regulators, courts, insurers and professional bodies
o Accepting, limiting, referring or declining engagements
• Scope Management and Engagement Risk
o Engagement letters and agreed scope of work
o Limitation of services and exclusion clauses
o Reliance on client and third-party information
o Disclaimers and practical limitations
o Association risk and inappropriate client reliance
o Documentation of professional judgement
o Advice records and decision trails
o Managing scope creep during engagements
• Referral, Collaboration and Use of Experts
o Referring work to specialists
o Working with attorneys, tax practitioners, valuers, labour consultants and B-BBEE specialists
o Reliance on expert work
o Responsibility for advice involving experts
o Communicating limitations to clients
o Maintaining professional boundaries while protecting client relationships
• Professional Indemnity, Disciplinary and Legal Exposure
o Negligent advice and professional liability
o Misrepresentation and misleading advice
o Breach of professional standards and codes of conduct
o Disciplinary action by professional bodies
o Litigation and client claims
o Regulatory consequences
o Insurance notification and indemnity exclusions
o Reputational damage and loss of client trust
• Practical Case Studies
o Trust structure advice without legal expertise
o POPIA compliance advice based on templates
o Informal labour law advice to clients
o B-BBEE advice outside professional competence
o Company law advice on solvency, liquidity and director duties
o Valuation advice in shareholder disputes
o Financial modelling for funding and investment decisions
o Payroll and tax advice without specialist review
• Practical Tools and Takeaways
o Competence boundary checklist
o Scope clarification questions
o Referral decision framework
o Documentation checklist
o Red flags for over-advising
o Client communication techniques for limiting or declining work
o Practical safeguards for advisory engagements
• Introduction: The Modern Accountant as an All-Purpose Advisor
o The expanding role of accountants in practice and business
o Client expectations and commercial pressure
o Advisory creep and informal advice
o Professional exposure versus professional assistance
o Ethical failures arising from misplaced confidence
• Ethical Framework and Professional Responsibilities
o Professional competence and due care
o Integrity and objectivity in advisory engagements
o Professional behaviour and public trust
o Confidentiality and responsible use of client information
o Public interest responsibilities of professional accountants
o Ethical threats arising from overconfidence, familiarity and self-interest
o Safeguards against competence-related ethical threats
• Competence Boundaries in Professional Advisory Work
o Technical competence versus commercial awareness
o Knowledge, skill, experience and professional judgement
o Acting outside one's area of expertise
o Specialist areas requiring additional expertise
o Tax advisory boundaries
o Trust law and fiduciary responsibilities
o Companies Act compliance and company secretarial advice
o POPIA and PAIA compliance advisory services
o Estate planning and deceased estate administration
o Business valuations and financial modelling
o Payroll, labour law and employment-related advice
o B-BBEE advisory and verification risks
o Internal controls and governance advisory
o Dispute support, expert reports and litigation-related work
• The Competence Boundary Test
o Understanding applicable legal, regulatory and financial reporting frameworks
o Understanding client facts, context and commercial substance
o Identifying knowledge gaps and limitations
o Determining when specialist expertise is required
o Clarifying scope, assumptions, exclusions and limitations
o Defensibility before regulators, courts, insurers and professional bodies
o Accepting, limiting, referring or declining engagements
• Scope Management and Engagement Risk
o Engagement letters and agreed scope of work
o Limitation of services and exclusion clauses
o Reliance on client and third-party information
o Disclaimers and practical limitations
o Association risk and inappropriate client reliance
o Documentation of professional judgement
o Advice records and decision trails
o Managing scope creep during engagements
• Referral, Collaboration and Use of Experts
o Referring work to specialists
o Working with attorneys, tax practitioners, valuers, labour consultants and B-BBEE specialists
o Reliance on expert work
o Responsibility for advice involving experts
o Communicating limitations to clients
o Maintaining professional boundaries while protecting client relationships
• Professional Indemnity, Disciplinary and Legal Exposure
o Negligent advice and professional liability
o Misrepresentation and misleading advice
o Breach of professional standards and codes of conduct
o Disciplinary action by professional bodies
o Litigation and client claims
o Regulatory consequences
o Insurance notification and indemnity exclusions
o Reputational damage and loss of client trust
• Practical Case Studies
o Trust structure advice without legal expertise
o POPIA compliance advice based on templates
o Informal labour law advice to clients
o B-BBEE advice outside professional competence
o Company law advice on solvency, liquidity and director duties
o Valuation advice in shareholder disputes
o Financial modelling for funding and investment decisions
o Payroll and tax advice without specialist review
• Practical Tools and Takeaways
o Competence boundary checklist
o Scope clarification questions
o Referral decision framework
o Documentation checklist
o Red flags for over-advising
o Client communication techniques for limiting or declining work
o Practical safeguards for advisory engagements