This week the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB) celebrated its tenth anniversary as the independent body that sets the code of ethics and professional standards for Australia’s accounting professionals.
The APESB Chair, The Honourable Nicola Roxon, said the board marked this milestone with a celebratory event bringing together stakeholders and taskforce members – past and present – who have contributed to its success.
“Ten years ago, the three major professional accounting bodies in Australia had the vision and foresight to create our independent board and ensure continued professionalism of the accounting profession,” Ms Roxon said.
“Today we are able to celebrate a decade of achievements because of the forward thinking accounting bodies and professionals who have supported us. The APESB operates with limited resources, but with outstanding commitment, professionalism and dedication we have delivered world-class standards.”
As part of its celebrations, seven awards of recognition were presented to members of the APESB taskforce groups who had made an outstanding contribution to the development of standards.
“There are 104 invaluable members of the APESB taskforce groups, all of whom give up their time and expertise to support the standard development process. We in the accounting profession are greatly indebted to their services,” Ms Roxon said.
The anniversary event included a robust panel discussion on the current landscape and future challenges for professionalism and ethics. Panelists noted the importance of both strong ethical standards and culture and that entities with strong ethics as well as strong cultures often prove to be more profitable.
“We are very proud of what we’ve achieved in the past 10 years. The landscape is forever changing, so we’re looking forward to a new decade and a new set of challenges,” Ms Roxon said.
The APESB would like to thank all panelists and attendees for contributing to these lively discussions.
