AICPA Ethics Code Exam 2026/2027 | 38 Questions & Answers | Ethics, Independence, SEC & PCAOB

This AICPA Ethics Code Exam 2026/2027 study document contains 38 multiple-choice exam questions with correct answers and explanatory notes designed to support preparation in professional accounting ethics. The 27-page resource focuses extensively on ethical decision-making, integrity, objectivity, due care, conflicts of interest, responsibilities to the public, client confidentiality, client records, outsourcing services, gifts, covered members, attest engagements, and the professional responsibilities of CPAs. A substantial part of the material addresses auditor and CPA independence, including financial and business relationships, automobile and student loans, credit-card balances, immediate-family and dependent relationships, nonattest services, management participation threats, bookkeeping activities, commissions and financial interests. It also includes scenario-based questions that require students to determine whether particular relationships or services impair independence, making the document particularly useful for both conceptual revision and application-based exam preparation. The later questions cover SEC auditor-independence requirements and PCAOB ethics and independence rules, including the SEC's independence principles, broker-dealer accounts, the one-year cooling-off period, human-resource and information-technology services, valuation services, and communications with audit committees under PCAOB Rule 3526. These areas correspond with authoritative professional guidance: the SEC's Rule 2-01 independence framework focuses on whether an accountant can exercise objective and impartial judgment, while PCAOB Rule 3526 requires registered firms to communicate specified independence relationships to audit committees before an initial engagement and at least annually thereafter. The document is especially relevant for CPA candidates, accounting students, auditing students, professional ethics students, and learners preparing for AICPA ethics-related assessments or studying auditor independence and professional conduct. It can also support students taking university courses in auditing, assurance, accounting ethics, professional responsibilities, and CPA examination preparation. APA references: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. (n.d.). Introduction to the Code. AICPA & CIMA. The professional guidance identifies integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality, and professional behavior as fundamental ethical principles. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. (n.d.). Rule 3526: Communication with audit committees concerning independence. PCAOB Rules, Section 3: Auditing and Related Professional Practice Standards. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2000). Revision of the Commission's auditor independence requirements. Release No. 33-7919. Note: The uploaded document does not identify a university or course code, so these have not been invented or attributed to an institution. Keywords AICPA ethics exam, AICPA ethics questions and answers, CPA ethics exam 2026, AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, professional accounting ethics, CPA professional conduct, auditor independence, CPA independence rules, ethics practice questions, SEC auditor independence, PCAOB ethics rules, PCAOB Rule 3526, integrity and objectivity, conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, nonattest services, attest engagements, covered member rules, audit independence questions, ethical decision making, CPA exam preparation, accounting ethics questions, professional responsibilities, SEC independence rules, audit committee communications, CPA ethics study guide