The managing partner of a CPA firm is approached by the CEO of a major client in the firm's headquarters in New York City. The CEO can't use two tickets to the Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants. The CEO knows that the partner is a huge New York Giants football fan and is looking forward to the Peyton Manning versus Eli Manning matchup. While both quarterbacks have won the Super Bowl in different years, the Manning brothers have never played against each other in the Super Bowl.
In a gesture of gratitude for services rendered, the CEO offers the tickets to the partner. At first, the partner is excited about the prospects of going to the Super Bowl but she also realizes that there may be some ethical issues to consider before deciding whether to accept the tickets. Assume that the partner asks for your help. You are a CPA and a longtime friend of the partner. You hate football, so your advice will be completely objective. What are the ethical issues that you would raise with the partner to help in deciding whether to accept the Super Bowl tickets?
Would your advice be different with respect to accepting the tickets if the firm provides only nonauditing services to the client? What if it provides both nonauditing and auditing services? Be sure to cite specific ethics rules in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct that would guide your actions.