Reporting and Professional Practice is the recommended foundation segment in CPA Program. It is compulsory for all new candidates and for existing candidates who did not achieve a pass in Core I before the year 2000.

The primary objective of this segment is to provide candidates with an introduction to the business environment and an improved understanding of how to apply professional judgment in ethical and reporting issues in professional practice.

The segment content is divided into five modules, followed by a collection of integrated case studies. These case studies have been included for the application of materials covered in modules 1 through to 5.

In various modules within the Reporting and Professional Practice segment, it is assumed a level of knowledge has been achieved by candidates on completion of their undergraduate degree. The material in this segment builds upon this assumed knowledge.

The segment material is cumulative. Therefore, candidates will gain the most from the materials by working progressively through the study guide.

The examination is divided into two parts. Part A contains multiple-choice test questions and represents 70 per cent of the paper. Part B contains written response questions and represents 30 per cent of the paper.

Candidates must have access to an up-to-date version of the CPA Australia Members' Handbook. The content of the Reporting and Professional Practice segment is as follows:    

Module 1: Accounting and society

• accounting as a profession
  • attributes of the profession 
  • the profession under challenge
  • the roles of accountants
  • accountants as moral agents and decision makers
  • ethical behaviour of accountants
  • the role of professional judgment in accounting decisions

Module 2: Professional responsibilities and judgment

• professional ethics 
  • applying the concept of 'service ideal'
  • a code of ethics for professional accountants
  • code of ethics for members in public practice
  • code of ethics for members in business
  • self-regulation and professional discipline
  • theoretical approaches to ethics
  • a conceptual framework for individual ethical behaviour
  • the philosophical approach to applying ethics
  • systematic approaches: ethical decision-making models
  • factors influencing decisions

Module 3: The business environment

• resource allocation and accountability
• the role of financial reports
• influences in the marketplace
• regulating the business environment
• the nature of financial accounting standard-setting in Australia
• triple bottom line
• internationalising accounting
• public expenditure and financial control
• government accounting
• public-private partnerships

Module 4: Enterprise governance

• what is enterprise governance?
• corporate governance and conformance
• business governance and performance
• international enterprise governance initiatives and structures
• the role of securities exchanges in enhancing enterprise governance
• differences in enterprise governance structures internationally
• the enterprise governance role of the board and individual directors
• the role of shareholders and other stakeholder in the enterprise governance process
• subcommittees of the board and their importance in enterprise governance
• code of conduct for enterprise governance
• role of the external auditor in the governance of the enterprise
• auditor-general's responsibilities
• enterprise governance in the public sector

Module 5: Conceptual framework for general purpose financial reporting

• the role of theory in accounting
  • systems and theories
  • how theories come into existence
  • deductive versus inductive processes
• conceptual frameworks for financial reporting
  • major conceptual frameworks 
  • the Australian conceptual framework
  • reporting entity
  • objective of financial reporting
  • assumptions underlying financial reports
  • definition and recognition of the elements of financial statements
  • measurement of the elements of financial statements