Members of IMA shall behave ethically. A commitment to ethical professional practice includes overarching principles that express our values, and standards that guide our conduct.
PRINCIPLES
IMA's overarching ethical principles include: Honesty, Fairness, Objectivity, and Responsibility. Members shall act in accordance with these principles and shall encourage others within their organizations to adhere to them.
STANDARDS
A member's failure to comply with the following standards may result in disciplinary action.
I. COMPETENCE
Each member has a responsibility to:
1. Maintain an appropriate level of professional expertise by continually developing knowledge and skills.
2. Perform professional duties in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and technical standards.
3. Provide decision support information and recommendations that are accurate, clear, concise, and timely.
4. Recognize and communicate professional limitations or other constraints that would preclude responsible judgment or successful performance of an activity.
II. CONFIDENTIALITY
Each member has a responsibility to:
1. Keep information confidential except when disclosure is authorized or legally required.
2. Inform all relevant parties regarding appropriate use of confidential information. Monitor subordinates' activities to ensure compliance.
3. Refrain from using confidential information for unethical or illegal advantage.
III. INTEGRITY
Each member has a responsibility to:
1. Mitigate actual conflicts of interest, regularly communicate with business associates to avoid apparent conflicts of interest. Advise all parties of any potential conflicts.
2. Refrain from engaging in any conduct that would prejudice carrying out duties ethically.
3. Abstain from engaging in or supporting any activity that might discredit the profession.
IV. CREDIBILITY
Each member has a responsibility to:
1. Communicate information fairly and objectively.
2. Disclose all relevant information that could reasonably be expected to influence an intended user's understanding of the reports, analyses, or recommendations.
3. Disclose delays or deficiencies in information, timeliness, processing, or internal controls in conformance with organization policy and/or applicable law.
RESOLUTION OF ETHICAL CONFLICT
In applying the Standards of Ethical Professional Practice, you may encounter problems identifying unethical behavior or resolving an ethical conflict. When faced with ethical issues, you should follow your organization's established policies on the resolution of such conflict. If these policies do not resolve the ethical conflict, you should consider the following courses of action:
1. Discuss the issue with your immediate supervisor except when it appears that the supervisor is involved. In that case, present the issue to the next level. If you cannot achieve a satisfactory resolution, submit the issue to the next management level. If your immediate superior is the chief executive officer or equivalent, the acceptable reviewing authority may be a group such as the audit committee, executive committee, board of directors, board of trustees, or owners. Contact with levels above the immediate superior should be initiated only with your superior's knowledge, assuming he or she is not involved. Communication of such problems to authorities or individuals not employed or engaged by the organization is not considered appropriate, unless you believe there is a clear violation of the law.
2. Clarify relevant ethical issues by initiating a confidential discussion with an IMA Ethics Counselor or other impartial advisor to obtain a better understanding of possible courses of action.
3. Consult your own attorney as to legal obligations and rights concerning the ethical conflict.
Ethics Helpline
The Institute of Management Accountants offers an ethics helpline service. Members of IMA and other financial professionals may contact this helpline for free, confidential guidance on ethical issues. Please call 1-800-245-1383 for this service. Individuals outside of the U.S. and Canada may have to dial another toll-free access code first before dialing the ethics hotline. Please follow the instructions below:
1. Go to the AT&T Web site.
2. Select your country from the drop-down menu (in the box for AT&T USADirect ACCESS NUMBERS).
3. Dial the numbers provided before you dial the ethics hotline number.
The purpose of the helpline is to provide guidance to those in the profession that find themselves in an ethical dilemma.
After a preliminary discussion of the problem to determine the kind of ethics matter being reported, an ethics counselor will respond to the caller. Confidentiality is maintained at all times. The counselor will not provide a specific resolution but will explain how the dilemma relates to the provisions of IMA's Statement of Ethical Professional Practice.
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