Accounting Firm Culture, Governance Spur Global Ethics Project

The global body that sets ethical standards for accountants is launching a project focused on firms’ internal culture and governance after a recent series of lapses.

Culture and governance are especially important “following a spate of high-profile cases of unethical behavior in accounting firms in several jurisdictions in recent years,” the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants said Tuesday.

In Australia, for example, PricewaterhouseCoopers has changed its senior management and sold its government consulting arm since admitting in 2023 that it had shared confidential government tax plans with clients. Other audit firms, including KPMG’s Dutch arm, were hit with ...