AICPA Ethics in Action | 12 CPE Credits | 8 Courses

AICPA Ethics in Action — 12 CPE Credits in Behavioral Ethics That Go Beyond the Rulebook

You don’t make unethical decisions because you’re unethical. You make them because your brain is wired to trick you into thinking they’re fine.

Confirmation bias makes accountants favour data that supports their assumptions. Overconfidence leads to overstated revenues and understated liabilities. Groupthink lets entire teams rationalise questionable practices — and cognitive dissonance allows decision-makers to engage in aggressive earnings management while genuinely believing they’ve done nothing wrong. 

A 2025 systematic review of 47 studies found that AI is making this worse, not better — creating cognitive bias from overreliance on AI recommendations, a decline in professional skepticism, and an identity shift from independent professionals to passive AI interpreters. The accounting profession’s ethical challenges aren’t shrinking. They’re evolving faster than most professionals’ training. 

Ethics in Action is AICPA’s most comprehensive behavioral ethics program — 8 courses, 12 CPE credits, covering everything from personal moral integrity to AI ethics, critical thinking, and data-driven ethical decision-making. This isn’t about memorising the AICPA Code of Conduct. It’s about understanding why ethical people fail ethically — and building the cognitive tools to stop it. 

Eduyush offers competitive regional pricing as an authorized AICPA channel partner —🔗 Verify Eduyush as an Official AICPA Channel Partner

Why Behavioral Ethics — Not Just Compliance Ethics

Most ethics CPE courses teach you the rules: the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, Sarbanes-Oxley provisions, SEC and PCAOB requirements. Those are important — but they don’t explain why smart, well-intentioned professionals still make catastrophic ethical errors.

Behavioral ethics fills that gap. It explains the psychological mechanisms — cognitive biases, social pressures, moral disengagement — that cause ethical failures even in people who know the rules perfectly. 

Research in behavioral accounting confirms that training professionals to recognise and counteract their own biasesleads to “more balanced and reliable reports” and improved transparency. This course builds that recognition systematically across 8 modules. 

What’s Inside — 8 Courses, 12 CPE Credits

This is a bundled program of 8 distinct courses covering the full spectrum of behavioral ethics for accounting and finance professionals: 

Key Topics Covered

Learning Outcomes

1. Recognise how ethical behaviour is shaped by cognitive biases, social influences, and personal values
2. Identify how these factors impact ethical decision-making in accounting and finance contexts
3. Practice critical thinking skills with regards to ethical challenges facing accounting professionals
4. Apply strategies to foster integrity, transparency, and responsible behaviour in your career
5. Navigate complex ethical scenarios with confidence and sound judgment
6. Engage in ethical dialogue and raise concerns constructively within teams and organisations

 The AI Ethics Dimension — Why This Matters Now

This course includes dedicated content on AI ethics — a topic most legacy ethics CPE courses completely ignore. 

A 2024 research paper published in the Journal of Accounting Ethics and Public Policy found that AI adoption in accounting creates three critical ethical challenges:

• Data privacy breaches from AI systems processing sensitive financial information
• Biased decision-making from algorithms trained on historically skewed data
• Lack of transparency in AI-driven audit and reporting outputs

The paper’s conclusion: accountants are responsible for upholding ethical standards and ensuring AI systems are used responsibly — but they need new ethical frameworks and training to do so. 

A separate 2025 systematic review found that overreliance on AI recommendations is already eroding professional skepticism among accountants, with researchers calling for “new theoretical models that combine behavioral ethics with human-AI interaction”. 

This AICPA course addresses this head-on — equipping you with the ethical reasoning tools to use AI responsibly, question its outputs critically, and maintain your professional independence in an increasingly automated environment.

Who Should Enroll

• CPAs who need to meet mandatory behavioral ethics CPE — this single program delivers 12 credits, covering 3 full years of ethics requirements for most U.S. states 
• CMAs who need 2 hours of annual ethics — this covers 6 years’ worth of IMA ethics requirements in one program 
• CIAs fulfilling biennial ethics requirements through the IIA’s CPE framework
• Chartered Accountants (CAs) seeking comprehensive verifiable ethics CPD — particularly relevant for CAs working with AI-driven tools and international teams
• ACCA members logging verifiable ethics CPD under the unit or employer route 
• Partners and firm leaders responsible for ethical culture across their practice — the breadth of this program (8 courses) makes it ideal for firm-wide ethics training
• Any professional using AI tools in accounting who wants to understand their ethical responsibilities as the human-in-the-loop 

Does This Course Fulfil Mandatory Ethics CPE?

Yes — and then some. At 12 CPE credits in NASBA-classified Behavioral Ethics, this is one of the most comprehensive ethics offerings available. 

Coverage by Certification

Note: Some U.S. states require a portion of ethics CPE to be state-specific. This course covers general behavioral ethics and satisfies the non-state-specific portion. Verify with your state board if additional state-specific hours are needed. 

Ethics in Action vs. Avoiding the Slippery Slope — Which One Should You Take?

• Take Slippery Slope if you need 4 ethics CPE credits quickly and want a focused, practical framework
• Take Ethics in Action if you want comprehensive coverage, AI ethics training, and enough credits to satisfy ethics requirements for years to come

Course Details at a Glance

Why Buy Through Eduyush?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this the same course as on the AICPA website?
A: Yes. Eduyush is an authorized AICPA channel partner. Same 8 courses, same 12 CPE credits, same NASBA classification.

Q: Does this count toward mandatory ethics CPE?
A: Yes. It delivers 12 CPE credits in NASBA-classified Behavioral Ethics — enough to satisfy the ethics requirement for most U.S. state boards, CMAs, CIAs, and international certifications. Some U.S. states require state-specific ethics hours separately.

Q: Do I need an AICPA membership?
A: No. Open to all — no membership required.

Q: Do I get a digital badge?
A: No. This program does not include a digital badge. It earns 12 CPE credits in Behavioral Ethics.

Q: What’s the difference between this and the “Slippery Slope” ethics course?
A: Slippery Slope is a single 4-CPE course focused on one framework for building ethical culture. Ethics in Action is 8 courses / 12 CPE credits covering the full spectrum — including AI ethics, critical thinking, communication, cognitive biases, and decision-making. It’s broader, deeper, and at an intermediate level.

Q: How long does it take to complete?
A: 12 CPE credits across 8 courses. Most learners complete it over 2–4 weeks at their own pace. You have 1 full year of access.

Q: Does this cover AI ethics?
A: Yes. AI is listed as a key topic. The course addresses how AI introduces new ethical challenges including algorithmic bias, overreliance on machine outputs, and maintaining professional skepticism when working with AI-driven tools.

Q: I already took Slippery Slope — should I also take this?
A: Yes, if you want deeper coverage. Slippery Slope is Basic level; Ethics in Action is Intermediate. There’s minimal overlap — Ethics in Action covers AI, critical thinking, communication styles, and cognitive biases that Slippery Slope doesn’t address.

Q: Can I take the 8 courses in any order?
A: The program is self-paced with 1 year of access. You can complete the courses in the order that suits you.