Two Firms Launch New Ethics Programs: BKD, Moss Adams Aim to Ensure High Ethical Tone throughout Firms

Moss Adams LLP in Seattle and BKD LLP in Springfield, Missouri, are striking out for a new frontier in CPA firm management--formal ethics oversight. Their approaches differ--Moss Adams hired a single individual to act as an independent ethics officer, and BKD formed an advisory council of independent experts. But the aim is the same: to ensure the high ethical tone at the top of the firms is filtering through the organizations to clients and the public. Robert L. Bunting, Moss Adams chairman and incoming AICPA chairman of the board, and William E. Fingland Jr., BKD managing partner, were at the AICPA's New York offices for an Institute strategic planning committee meeting. The two firms, which are among the ten largest in the United States, had just issued a press release on their newly instituted oversight programs, and the Journal of Accountancy wanted to learn more about what prompted them to take this step and how they envisioned the process working. Rick Telberg, editor at large, led the discussion with Bunting and Fingland. Hem are the highlights of the interview: JofA: Why introduce a formal ethics oversight function just now?  The profession is under tremendous scrutiny and oversight. So this is just an evolution in a series of steps to do things the right way and find the processes that help us focus on doing just that.  It's one thing to talk about integrity; it's another for people to believe leaders practice integrity and to buy into the idea that ethics in business and the integrity of business are quintessential success factors.  Are CPAs uniquely positioned at this point in history to be the ethical guides to corporate America? Bunting: Yes, CPAs have the opportunity to be truth givers, to be the honest broker.  The CPA can set the example that integrity is not just about doing the right thing--it is about developing processes that help you get to the right answer. JofA: You've each chosen different routes on how to approach this within your firms. Let's compare and contrast.  We agreed in principle and on the overall objective, which is to have an independent process to look inside our organizations and give us feedback on whether the tone we try to set at the top filters all the way through the organization.  And having established that objective, we both agreed there probably was more than one way we could accomplish that. JofA: At Moss Adams you went with a single individual.  We wanted a lead person who could use his or her own staff to do research and surveys. And we saw this person as akin to an ethics partner, who would identify projects such as staff surveys, interviewing our director of auditing and accounting, interviewing our tax people and participating in certain committees--for example, our governance and compensation committees. Fingland: I don't think the differences in our approaches should in any way be seen as a difference in what we're trying to accomplish. Because the BKD and Moss Adams firms are similar, we compare notes and evaluate best practices. The important thing is that this is very new ground for CPA firms to venture into.  How do your partners like it? Bunting: One of the things that really struck me when I broached the idea with our board members was that they were enthusiastic about it right from the start. It clicked with everybody. JofA: Bill, how did you present it to the board? Fingland: I wrote a memo--a white paper--and we spent a couple of meetings talking about the particulars of our approach. We almost immediately concluded the overall concept was a great one. JofA: I assume both firms already had internal quality control functions set up. Does this take the place of that? Bunting: No. …

Field of study: Business