Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board

What Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board does

The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB) is an independent, non-profit standards-setting body established in February 2006 as an initiative of CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia (now Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand). Its mandate is to develop and issue, in the public interest, high quality professional and ethical standards that apply to members of its three constituent professional bodies: CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ), and the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA). The portfolio spans General Pronouncements (notably APES 110 Code of Ethics), Firm Pronouncements (including APES 320 Quality Management for Firms and APES 325 Risk Management for Firms), and Specialist Pronouncements covering taxation, forensic accounting, valuation, financial planning, insolvency, compilation, and outsourced services. Supplementary outputs include guidance notes (e.g., GN 30 Outsourced Services, GN 40 Ethical Conflicts in the Workplace), technical alerts, an Independence Guide, and a quarterly eNews, all distributed via the apesb.org.au website, an iOS/Android mobile app, and member-body relay channels.

APESB operates from a single headquarters at Level 11, 99 William Street, Melbourne, and serves Australia exclusively. It is governed by an independent board and led by a small executive team (headcount band 11-50), with the CEO concurrently serving as Vice Chair of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). Strategic focus areas for 2021-2025 include sustainability reporting, technology and AI ethics, and small and medium practices. The 2024-2026 period has seen the release of a new compiled Code of Ethics (November 2025), an AI ethics Technical Alert (October 2025), revised audit partner and sustainability assurance leader rotation guidance (July 2026), and a leadership transition with The Hon. Peter Garling RFD, SC appointed Chair in March 2026.

The organisation is funded entirely by membership contributions from CPA Australia, CA ANZ, and IPA; standards are provided free of charge to members of those bodies and to students and Australian educational institutions. Commercial use by non-member accounting bodies may attract licensing fees. APESB has no subsidiaries, no external funding rounds, no M&A activity, and is not venture-backed or publicly traded — its operating model is a member-funded public-interest standards regime with international alignment through IESBA and IFAC rather than a commercial revenue model.

Name

Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board

Legal name

Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board Limited

Website

https://apesb.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board is an independent Australian non-profit that develops and issues professional and ethical standards for members of CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, and the Institute of Public Accountants, operating from Melbourne since 2006.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Accounting Professional Standards

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Compliance & Governance (FSACAGAK)

Keywords

• Professional ethics standards
• Accounting standards setting
• Code of ethics
• Quality management standards
• Professional accounting pronouncements

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Funding: APESB is funded by its three Members: CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ), and the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA). These professional bodies provide the operational funding for APESB to develop and issue professional and ethical standards.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB) develops and issues professional and ethical standards for the Australian accounting profession on behalf of three sponsoring professional bodies (CPA Australia, CA ANZ, and IPA). Its deliverables comprise the APES series of standards (covering ethics, quality and risk management, and service-specific pronouncements for audit, taxation, valuation, financial planning, insolvency, forensic, and compilation services), supporting Guidance Notes, an Independence Guide, Technical Alerts, and Focus Areas. APESB also operates as the Australian liaison with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA).

Product overview

APESB operates as a standards-setting body, not a software product company. It develops and issues professional and ethical standards and pronouncements for members of CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, and Institute of Public Accountants. The portfolio consists of the foundational Code of Ethics (APES 110), sector-specific standards (APES 205-350 series covering areas such as taxation, audit, insolvency, valuation, financial planning, and quality management), guidance notes (including GN 30 for outsourced services and GN 40 for ethical conflicts), and supplementary publications including the Independence Guide, Technical Alerts, and quarterly eNews. APESB also offers a mobile app for accessing pronouncements and maintains focus areas in sustainability reporting, technology/AI ethics, and small/medium practices. Standards are organized into General Pronouncements (individual member standards), Firm Pronouncements (firm-level quality and risk standards), and Specialist Pronouncements (specialized service standards).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 years of continuous standards setting in the public interest since establishment in February 2006
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2026IESBA is the international body that sets the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. APESB collaborates with IESBA on standards development, aligning Australian standards with international requirements. APESB CEO Channa Wijesinghe was appointed Vice Chair of IESBA. IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias delivered keynote at APESB's 20th anniversary event.
• CPA AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2006One of the three founding Members of APESB, established in February 2006 as an initiative of CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia. CPA Australia provides membership funding and represents one of the three constituent professional bodies whose members are subject to APESB standards.
• Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2006One of the three founding Members of APESB. The Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia (now CA ANZ) was an original co-initiator of APESB in February 2006. CA ANZ represents chartered accountants and is one of the three constituent professional bodies.
• Institute of Public Accountants (IPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2006One of the three Members of APESB. IPA represents public accountants and is one of the three constituent professional bodies whose members are subject to APESB professional and ethical standards.
• International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFAC is the global organization for the accounting profession. APESB's copyright policy acknowledges that certain APESB Works are based on material licensed from IFAC. APESB maintains alignment with IFAC's international standards and guidance.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB): International body setting auditing and assurance standards, the global counterpart to AUASB. Peer to APESB at the international level for adjacent professional standards; APESB works with IAASB on cross-referencing pronouncements.
• International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA): International counterpart setting the global Code of Ethics that APESB localizes. Operates with the same standards-setting function for professional accountants but at the global level; APESB CEO currently serves as IESBA Vice Chair, evidencing direct functional equivalence.
• Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB): Canadian body overseeing auditors of public companies and contributing to audit quality and ethics standards. International peer to APESB in audit-oversight and professional-standards functions, operating in a common-law jurisdiction analogous to Australia.
• Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB): Australian government body developing and issuing accounting (financial reporting) standards. Direct peer of APESB within Australia's accounting regulatory architecture, with APESB's APES 205 explicitly aligned to AASB standards.
• Financial Reporting Council (Australia): Australian government body overseeing the financial reporting and audit regulatory frameworks. Listed as a related body in APESB's resources; operates as the apex financial-reporting regulator whose scope includes oversight of APESB itself.
• Financial Reporting Council (UK): UK regulator with responsibility for corporate governance, audit oversight, and accounting/ethical standard-setting. Closest UK functional peer to APESB, combining audit oversight and professional-standards functions in a single regulator.
• Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB): US statutory body overseeing audits of public companies and registered accounting firms, with rule-making powers over professional and ethical conduct. Closest functional equivalent to APESB in the US market, though operating under statutory authority rather than member-body funding.
• Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA): South African statutory body responsible for registering auditors and regulating their conduct, including setting ethical and professional standards. Operates the same regulatory + standards-setting combination as APESB but under statutory authority in a single jurisdiction.
• Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB): Australian government body that sets auditing and assurance standards. Sister standards-setting body in Australia whose pronouncements APESB explicitly references (APES 210 conformity with auditing standards); operates in the same regulatory ecosystem on an adjacent professional domain.

Broad incumbents

• International Federation of Accountants (IFAC): Global umbrella organization for the accounting profession whose material APESB licenses for its Works. Operates broadly across multiple professional-accountancy domains, while APESB specializes in ethics and professional standards within Australia.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board