ACCA has made a series of improvements to its rulebook with effect from 1 July 2025. The Code of Ethics and Conduct (the code) now comprises three separate documents: Guide; the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) Code; and Supplementary Requirements and Guidance.
The IESBA Code will continue to form an integral part of the code, and the latest edition of the IESBA Handbook will now be published on ACCA’s Rulebook webpages (with permission from the International Federation of Accountants), making it directly available to ACCA members.
Significant changes
In addition to the restructure, there are significant changes to the code following the adoption of revisions to the IESBA Code, which implement the first comprehensive suite of global standards on ethical considerations in tax planning and related services.
There are also changes to the ‘Supplementary Requirements and Guidance for Professional Accountants in Public Practice in the Code’, including:
- updates to the statements on professional stationery in Section B4
- clarifications of the minimum periods of retention for working papers in Section B6
- new sub-sections B14 to B19, which contain the requirements and guidance previously included in ‘Section A: IESBA Code’ as italicised content.
