In today’s fast-moving environment—tight deadlines, complex data, and high-stakes decisions—ethical risk doesn’t usually show up as a dramatic event. It shows up as small, reasonable-sounding shortcuts: “It’s immaterial.” “Same as last year.” “We’ll fix it next month.” This session builds the skills CPAs need to respond with confidence and professionalism. Professional skepticism isn’t cynicism or distrust. It’s a disciplined mindset: a questioning approach and critical evaluation of evidence, especially when judgment is required. It supports the profession’s expectations around integrity, objectivity, and due care—and reinforces trust with clients, stakeholders, and the public. You’ll walk away with a repeatable decision “muscle” you can use immediately—whether you work in audit, tax, advisory/CAS, industry, or government. This training helps you: -Reduce ethical and reputational risk without becoming adversarial -Make better calls when evidence is incomplete or ambiguity is high -Hold the line professionally when others push for speed over support -Improve the quality of conclusions, documentation, and escalation decisions
Course ID: TEAPS
The Ethical Advantage: Professional Skepticism
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the definition of professional skepticism and how it supports due care, integrity, and the public interest.
- Identify common ethics “pressure points” (time, relationships, incentives, authority, ambiguity) that erode skepticism.
- Recall a practical skepticism framework to challenge assumptions, validate evidence, and surface alternative explanations.
Major Topics
In this highly practical session, you will learn how to:
- Define professional skepticism and why it’s a cornerstone of ethical performance and due care
- Recognize the 5 skepticism breakdowns that erode judgment (time pressure, relationship pressure, routine bias, narrative seduction, automation bias)
- Apply a simple skepticism framework to challenge assumptions, test evidence, and surface alternative explanations
- Spot common judgment traps (confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, over-reliance on explanations) and use quick countermeasures
- Document and communicate skeptical follow-up in a way that protects quality and working relationships
Advanced Preparations
None
Who Should Attend
All CPAs whether in, public, private, non-profit, or government
Fields of Study
Behavioral EthicsPrerequisites
None