Jun 11, 2026 | English

IESBA's snapshots provide short, non-technical overviews of IESBA projects and initiatives. They explain the purpose, direction, and current focus in clear and accessible terms, alongside more detailed technical materials.

This Snapshot focuses on how IESBA is supporting the profession through this period of rapid technological change.

Q1. Why do ethics and independence matter for technology?

Technology is reshaping how professional accountants work and how professional services are delivered. Artificial intelligence (AI), agentic AI systems, digital assets, and cloud-based platforms are increasingly embedded in how firms operate, how decisions are made, and how trust is built with clients, investors, and the public.

This transformation creates significant opportunities but also introduces new or amplifies existing ethical and independence risks. Technology can challenge professional judgment, introduce bias, obscure accountability, and create threats to independence that did not exist in traditional service delivery models. The question for the profession is no longer whether to use these tools, but how to do so responsibly — anchored in ethics and independence. Technology is among IESBA’s top strategic priorities precisely because it cuts across every aspect of professional conduct, from professional competence and due care, and objectivity to confidentiality and independence.

Q2. Does the existing IESBA Code apply to the use of technology?

Yes. The International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the IESBA Code) is principles-based, and its five fundamental principles — integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behavior — apply regardless of the tools or technologies involved.

The Code's conceptual framework provides a structured approach to identifying, evaluating, and addressing ethical threats in any context, including technology-related ones. When applying the conceptual framework, professional accountants must have an inquiring mind, exercise professional judgement and use the reasonable and informed third-party test to identify threats, evaluate them, and address them by eliminating or reducing them to an acceptable level, or where not possible, by declining the engagement.

Technology does not break the ethical framework. It may challenge it. Where ethical qualities such as professional judgment, accountability, and culture are weak, technology amplifies risks and may also create new ones. Where these qualities are strong, technology creates the possibility of strengthening trust. The Code’s principles-based architecture is built to withstand the pace of technological change and guide conduct through rapid digitalization.

Q3. What has IESBA done to address technology-related ethical risks?

IESBA has adopted a structured, three-pillar approach to address the ethical implications of technology:

• Keeping the Code fit for purpose. In 2023, IESBA approved targeted, principles-based revisions to the Code to make it explicit that technology is a source of ethical risk and support professional accountants in managing that risk. These revisions became effective in December 2024.
• Continuous horizon scanning. IESBA has established a standing Technology Expert Group of eight practitioners to monitor emerging developments in real time, including AI and agentic AI, digital assets, cybersecurity, and quantum computing.
• Supporting the profession. IESBA has been developing practical, non-authoritative guidance materials, and conducts targeted outreach and communication to help professionals understand and apply the Code in technology-related contexts.

Q4. What were the 2023 technology-related revisions to the Code?

Approved in April 2023 and effective from December 2024, the technology-related revisions to the Code sharpen and strengthen the Code to be fit for purpose in the age of rapid digitalization. The revisions build off prior revisions relating to the Role and Mindset of a Professional Accountant and the Provision of Non-Assurance Services to an Audit Client, which already included technology-related provisions. The technology-related revisions are principles-based and technology-agnostic, designed to apply to all technologies and to withstand the continuing pace of change. The key changes impacted:

• Professional competence and due care. Professional accountants must understand, be able to explain, and evaluate the technology they use, including keeping pace with technology-related developments relevant to their professional activities. Relying on opaque or unexplained outputs is not acceptable.
• Inquiring mind. In relation to Role and Mindset, having an inquiring mind became a mandatory requirement when applying the conceptual framework. It is a prerequisite to understanding the source and relevance of inputs, and the sufficiency of technology outputs for the intended purpose. It applies to all professional accountants regardless of the activity undertaken.
• Use of technology outputs. New explicit requirements apply whenever a professional accountant uses technology outputs — whether internally developed, purchased, or third-party. Accountants must assess fitness for purpose, understand limitations and assumptions, evaluate data quality and potential bias, and determine the appropriate extent of reliance.
• Automation bias. In the context of Role and Mindset, automation bias — the tendency to favor outputs generated by technology even when contradictory information raises questions about their reliability — is now explicitly named in the Code as a bias that can impair objectivity and the proper exercise of professional judgment. The Code requires accountants to be alert to this and other biases, and professional responsibility cannot be delegated to a machine.
• Complex circumstances. The Code now includes guidance on managing complexity — defined as arising from the compounding effect of interactions between uncertain elements and interdependent variables and assumptions. Rapid digitalization has made such circumstances more prevalent, and professional accountants must communicate inherent uncertainties to their organization, firm or users of their professional activities, and remain alert to changes in facts and circumstances.
• Confidentiality. Confidentiality obligations have been extended to cover the full data lifecycle: collection, use, transfer, storage, dissemination, and lawful destruction. The use of client data for purposes such as AI model training requires proper authorization, with clear boundaries around consent.
• Independence. The independence standards have been reinforced to address risks specific to technology-enabled services: self-review threats, the risk of assuming management responsibility, and commercial dependencies that can arise when technology is used to deliver professional services to audit or assurance clients.

Q5. Why is IESBA not working on further changes to the Code?

The technology landscape is evolving rapidly and continuously, and IESBA has deliberately chosen not to pursue additional Code revisions currently. The strength of the IESBA Code lies in its principles-based architecture: principles that govern professional conduct rather than prescribe rules for specific circumstances are inherently more durable and adaptable. If changes are made to respond to each development in technology-based tools, this would risk making the Code fragmented, difficult to apply, and quickly outdated.

Feedback from across the profession confirms that the existing Code, including the 2023 revisions, already addresses most of the ethical challenges arising from technology use today.

Rather than adding to the pace of change the profession is already managing, the priority is to allow the 2023 revisions time to be adopted and implemented, supported by practical guidance as technology continues to be successfully incorporated into professional activities.

Q6. What guidance is IESBA developing, and when?

IESBA is developing practical guidance to support the profession in applying the Code in technology-related contexts — moving thoughtfully, not adding to the noise of the wider debate on technology and AI.

Two non-authoritative guidance materials (NAMs) are planned:

• An overarching Technology NAM (planned Q3 2026). A high-level, technology-agnostic publication explaining how common characteristics of emerging technologies stress the Code’s fundamental principles and how the conceptual framework applies — designed to provide durable, principles-level support across the full range of technologies.
• AI-Specific NAM (planned Q4 2026). Developed with input from the IESBA Technology Expert Group, this publication will provide targeted practical support on the ethical challenges most commonly associated with AI use by professional accountants.

In addition, IESBA has already published materials to support practitioners:

• Ethical Leadership in a Digital Era — a joint publication with the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA) (2022) that explains the application of the Code to technology-related situations in practice.
• Practical Guidance for Auditors in Technology-Related Scenarios — a joint publication with the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board, Australia (APESB) (2023) that explains the application of the Code's conceptual framework to technology-related independence scenarios.

Q7. How is IESBA monitoring emerging technology developments?

Recognizing that technology developments will continue at speed, IESBA has established a standing monitoring mechanism through its Technology Expert Group: eight practitioners with hands-on experience in current and emerging technologies, who carry out regular horizon-scanning exercises.

Recent highlights of this work include:

• AI and agentic AI: Organizations are increasingly deploying AI in every aspect of their operations, but governance and oversight mechanisms lag behind adoption. Agentic systems, capable of autonomous execution and agent-to-agent interactions, raise additional risk concerns, including critical questions about traceability, human oversight, and accountability.
• “Shadow AI”: employees independently using AI tools without organizational approval is a growing and underappreciated risk across the profession.
• Digital assets and stablecoins, AI-assisted cybersecurity threats, and quantum computing are also being monitored as areas of emerging relevance.

Q8. How is IESBA engaging and communicating its approach to technology?

As part of its three-pillar approach to addressing the ethical implications of the use of technology, IESBA engages actively with the profession, regulators, and other stakeholders to raise awareness of the ethical dimensions of technology use. This includes, among other communications and stakeholder engagement activities:

• Participation in international events, regulatory forums, and standard-setter dialogues.
• A dedicated technology focus area on the IESBA website, providing plain-language explanations of IESBA’s approach and all supporting documentation.
• The Decoding Ethics podcast, featuring monthly episodes on technology themes, addressing current topics such as AI and agentic AI, quantum computing, automation bias, education efforts, and human judgment in a digital age.
• Targeted outreach at the jurisdictional level and with professional bodies, to support consistent adoption and implementation of the 2023 revisions.

About IESBA

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA’s mission is to serve the public interest by setting high-quality, international ethics (including independence) standards as a cornerstone to ethical behavior in business and organizations, and to public trust in financial and non-financial information that is fundamental to the proper functioning and sustainability of organizations, financial markets and economies worldwide.

Along with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the IESBA is part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit (IFEA). The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) oversees IESBA and IAASB activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards.