Twelve Steps to Greater Ethical Readiness for the Accounting Professional

Note: This Live Virtual course is presented in collaboration with CPA Western Provinces. The content is applicable to all participants. If you have questions regarding this course, please contact pdregistration@cpaalberta.ca

Overview: 

As technology accelerates and AI becomes embedded in professional work, ethical conflicts are inevitable. To stay grounded, professionals need a clear framework that blends strong ethical foundations with technological literacy. In this course we’ll look at a wide spectrum of solutions such a revisiting one’s code of ethics as an anchor, maintaining a “human before AI” mindset, and strengthening skepticism toward automated outputs. Practicing “What would I do if…?” scenarios builds ethical reflexes and prepares professionals for real world dilemmas. Understanding key AI concepts model drift, explainability, hallucinations, data governance, and alignment is now essential for responsible use. Documenting ethical decisions, tracking red flags, and fostering open ethical dialogue help identify issues early and reinforce accountability. Transparency with clients builds trust, while ethical courage ensures professionals speak up when needed. Continuous learning in AI governance, privacy, and cybersecurity keeps judgment sharp. Ultimately, aligning personal values with professional conduct ensures integrity in a rapidly changing technological world. 

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, you should be able to:

• Apply a strong ethical foundation as an anchor for decision making in a rapidly changing technological environment. 
  
• Demonstrate human centered accountability by validating, challenging, and documenting AI generated outputs rather than relying on automation alone. 
  
• Use professional skepticism with AI tools by identifying automation bias, cognitive offloading, and questionable assumptions in automated systems. 
  
• Respond confidently to ethical dilemmas involving technology through scenario practice, red flag awareness, and structured documentation
  Integrate continuous learning and personal values to ensure ethical alignment, transparency, and courage when navigating emerging AI related challenges.
  

Who Will Benefit: 

As ethics and AI intersect, the accounting professional is the one who is witness to what likely will be conflicts so this course provides a set of steps that can help create a grounding foundation or anchor in times that will be uncertain. This course of any accountant who albeit would be intrigued by AI is also concerned about the mix of the ethical principles with new tech.