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Advanced Audit and Assurance (International) · Advertising, tendering, and obtaining professional work and fees

Advertising and Marketing of Professional Services for ACCA AAA

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Audit firms may advertise and promote their services under the IESBA Code, as long as they stay honest and do not bring the profession into disrepute. Marketing must not be misleading, must not make unsubstantiated claims, and must not disparage others. In the exam, link each issue to integrity and professional behaviour.

Understand Advertising and Marketing of Professional Services

Audit firms need clients, so they need to tell the market what they do. The IESBA Code does not ban advertising. It sets a standard of conduct. When you promote your services you must still act with integrity and with professional behaviour.

The Code's approach is simple. Marketing is acceptable if it is honest, truthful and in good taste. It becomes a problem when it is misleading, exaggerated or damaging to the profession's reputation. Local laws or professional body rules may add detail, so always check the rules that apply to the firm.

The Code gives three things a professional accountant must not do when promoting services: make exaggerated claims about services offered, qualifications possessed or experience gained; make disparaging references to the work of another firm; or make unsubstantiated comparisons with another firm. These are the core of any exam answer.

The rule is not just about printed adverts. It covers websites, social media, brochures, tender documents, press comments, seminars and client presentations. A claim made in a pitch meeting is judged the same way as a claim in a newspaper.

Advertising is different from solicitation in practice. Solicitation means directly approaching a specific prospective client. Many professions once restricted it heavily. The Code focuses on how you do it, not on a blanket ban. Fee quotes, referral payments and gifts raise separate issues, covered in other topics.

Key rules to remember

Core test for marketing
Acceptable = honest + truthful + not misleading + not damaging to the profession
Apply this to every claim in a scenario. If one part fails, the marketing breaches the Code.
Three prohibited behaviours
No exaggerated claims | No disparaging references to others' work | No unsubstantiated comparisons
Name the one that fits. Exaggerated claims cover services, qualifications and experience.
Fundamental principles engaged
Integrity + Professional behaviour
Misleading marketing is dishonest (integrity) and harms the profession's reputation (professional behaviour).
Claim test
Can the firm prove it? Yes = factual. No = unsubstantiated
Claims about rankings, market share or results need evidence on file.

How to solve Advertising and Marketing of Professional Services questions

Use this method for any scenario where a firm promotes itself or a partner makes claims to win work.

  1. 1Identify exactly what was said or published, and where (advert, website, pitch, social media).
  2. 2Split the marketing into separate claims. Treat each claim on its own.
  3. 3Test each claim: is it true, can it be proved, and is it fairly worded?
  4. 4Check whether it disparages another firm or compares unfairly with a competitor.
  5. 5Name the fundamental principles breached: integrity and professional behaviour.
  6. 6Name the threat if relevant, such as self-interest from the wish to win work.
  7. 7Recommend action: withdraw or correct the material, add evidence, retrain partners, and set a review process.
  8. 8State a clear conclusion on which parts are acceptable and which are not.

Quickest way: Claim, test, fix

When to use it: Use when time is short and the scenario lists several marketing statements.

  1. Underline each claim in the scenario.
  2. Write a tick or cross beside each: true and provable, or not.
  3. For each cross, name the breach: exaggerated, disparaging or unsubstantiated.
  4. Add the principles: integrity and professional behaviour.
  5. Finish with one fix per cross: withdraw, correct or evidence it.

Common mistakes in Advertising and Marketing of Professional Services

  • Saying audit firms are not allowed to advertise at all.

    Older professional rules were strict, and students remember that.

    Fix: State that advertising is allowed if it is honest and not misleading. The restriction is on how, not whether.

  • Naming the wrong fundamental principle, such as objectivity or confidentiality.

    Students match any ethics issue to a favourite principle.

    Fix: Link misleading marketing to integrity and professional behaviour. Use others only if the scenario clearly raises them.

  • Treating every claim as a breach.

    Students assume marketing is suspect by nature.

    Fix: Judge each claim. A true, evidenced statement of services or experience is fine. Say so.

  • Ignoring the pitch or social media and only discussing printed adverts.

    Students think of advertising in a narrow traditional sense.

    Fix: Apply the same test to websites, tenders, presentations, posts and press comments.

  • Listing the rule but not applying it to the scenario facts.

    Students recite from memory to save time.

    Fix: Quote the exact wording from the scenario, then explain why it fails the test. This earns the application and professional skills marks.

  • Giving no recommendation.

    Students stop after spotting the breach.

    Fix: Always end with what the firm should do: withdraw, correct, evidence claims and add a marketing review control.

Worked examples

Example 1

Brightfield & Co, an audit firm, publishes a brochure stating: 'We are the best audit firm in the region and far better than Calder LLP, whose audits are often late and poor.' The firm has no survey or evidence to support this. Evaluate the brochure under the IESBA Code and recommend action.

Show the solution
  1. Identify the claims: 'best audit firm in the region' and 'far better than Calder LLP, whose audits are often late and poor'.
  2. Test claim one: it is a superlative with no evidence. It is an exaggerated and unsubstantiated claim.
  3. Test claim two: it compares Brightfield with a named competitor without proof. It is an unsubstantiated comparison.
  4. Also, saying Calder's audits are poor is a disparaging reference to another firm's work.
  5. Principles breached: integrity, because the statements are not honest or supportable, and professional behaviour, because they harm the reputation of the profession.
  6. Threat: self-interest, as the wish to win clients drives the wording.
  7. Recommend: withdraw the brochure, remove the comparison and the disparaging text, and only reissue factual statements the firm can prove.
  8. Add a control: a partner reviews all marketing before release and keeps evidence for each claim.

Answer: The brochure breaches the Code because it makes an exaggerated, unsubstantiated claim and disparages Calder LLP, breaching integrity and professional behaviour. Brightfield should withdraw it and reissue only factual, evidenced content, with partner review of future marketing.

Example 2

A partner at Marlow & Partners tells a prospective client at a pitch: 'We have audited listed companies for 12 years and our team includes two ACCA members.' Records show the firm has audited listed companies for 12 years and employs two ACCA members. The firm's website also says 'We guarantee you will never receive a modified audit opinion.' Evaluate both statements.

Show the solution
  1. Separate the two statements: the pitch statement and the website guarantee.
  2. Test the pitch statement: the records confirm both facts. It is truthful and supportable, so it is acceptable marketing of experience and qualifications.
  3. Test the website guarantee: no auditor can promise an opinion in advance, because the opinion depends on the evidence and the financial statements.
  4. The guarantee is misleading and exaggerated. It also implies the auditor would compromise the opinion for the client, which threatens objectivity.
  5. Principles engaged: integrity and professional behaviour. Objectivity is also implicated by the implied promise.
  6. Recommend: remove the guarantee at once, review the rest of the website, and brief the partners on what claims may be made.
  7. Keep evidence of the 12 years and the staff qualifications on file.

Answer: The pitch statement is acceptable because it is true and evidenced. The website guarantee is misleading and exaggerated, and implies compromised objectivity, so it must be removed. Marlow should also review its other marketing and keep evidence for its claims.

Exam tips

  • Always separate claims and judge each one. Marks go for showing which are acceptable and which are not.
  • Quote the scenario's wording, then apply the test. Generic rule recitals score low on application.
  • Name integrity and professional behaviour, and use the three prohibited behaviours as your checklist.
  • Finish with practical recommendations. Professional skills marks reward clear, commercial advice.
  • Watch for linked issues in the same scenario, such as fee quotes, gifts or referral payments, and deal with each under its own heading.

Practice questions from Advertising, tendering, and obtaining professional work and fees

Advertising and Marketing of Professional Services in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Advertising and Marketing of Professional Services: frequently asked questions

Can audit firms advertise under the IESBA Code?

Yes. The Code does not ban advertising. The firm must act with integrity and professional behaviour, so marketing must be honest and not misleading. Local rules may add further limits.

What marketing claims are not allowed?

Exaggerated claims about services, qualifications or experience are not allowed. Nor are disparaging references to another firm's work, or unsubstantiated comparisons with other firms.

What is the difference between advertising and solicitation?

Advertising is general promotion of the firm's services to the market. Solicitation is directly approaching a particular prospective client to win work. Both must be honest and professional, and local rules may restrict approaches more tightly.

Which fundamental principles apply to advertising?

Integrity and professional behaviour apply most directly. Integrity requires honesty. Professional behaviour requires that the firm avoids conduct that discredits the profession.