IESBA Issues Ethical Guidance on Emerging Technologies for Accountants

Posted 23 July 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Auditing & Accounting

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has released a new publication titled Emerging Technologies: A Characteristics-Based Approach to Ethical Considerations for Professional Accountants to guide practitioners on managing ethical risks associated with technological tools.

In terms of the fundamental principles established in the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards), accountants and auditors must adhere to standards of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behaviour when deploying technology in practice or business. The IESBA publication establishes a durable, characteristic-based framework designed to evaluate tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technologies, machine learning, quantum computing, and robotic process automation (RPA).

The guidance highlights specific characteristics of emerging technology that can amplify compliance risks under the Code:

  • Opacity and non-determinism: Systems operating as “black boxes” or generating variable outputs from identical inputs, complicating verification.
  • Data dependence and perpetual adaptivity: Heavy reliance on training data sets and continuous automated learning that may introduce subtle bias or data integrity risks.
  • Autonomy, scalability, and speed: High-speed automated execution operating with limited human intervention, which can magnify errors instantaneously across systems.

The publication clarifies that automation does not diminish human responsibility. Professional accountants remain fully accountable for decisions and work product generated using technological tools. Practitioners are required to exercise an inquiring mind, maintain professional skepticism, and ensure appropriate human oversight. Furthermore, maintaining professional competence requires ongoing technical upskilling. The release marks the first in a series of planned IESBA guidance materials and coordinates with parallel International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) initiatives on Quality Management for technology.

Click here to download Emerging Technologies: A Characteristics-Based Approach to Ethical Considerations for Professional Accountants.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: You must maintain sufficient technological literacy to critically evaluate AI and automated tool outputs, as automation does not shift ethical or legal responsibility away from the individual practitioner.
  • For your business: Accounting and audit practices must update their system of quality management (SOQM) to include human oversight controls and ethical risk assessments before deploying emerging technology tools.
  • For your clients: Clients deploying automated accounting or reporting systems must ensure their internal control environments and data governance frameworks support auditability and compliance with ethical standards.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/iesba-new-staff-publication-re-ethical-considerations-for-accountants-using-emerging-technologies

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