Respond to Essay

The Institute of Management Accountants publishes its Code of Ethical Professional Practice (referred to in subsequently as the CEPP in this writing) as a document to consolidate the ethical standards that all members are held to.  The document contains four overarching principles, those being honesty, fairness, objectivity, and responsibility (IMA Statement, 2012).  The Code goes on to outline various principles, which all members are expected to abide by and uphold.  All of these principles align closely with principles found throughout the Bible.  The subject of this discussion board post is the IMA principle of integrity, along with the biblical implications of integrity in the Bible. 

The IMA CEPP gives three directives with regards to integrity.  The first directive outlines the need to moderate any conflicts of interest an accounting professional may encounter (IMA Statement, 2012).  Not only is it important for the accounting professional to be vigilant in watching for conflicts of interest, the code takes it a step further in stating the professional’s responsibility to be proactive and resolve the conflict of interest and communicate with any affected parties.  The second directive pertaining to the principle of integrity calls on IMA members to “Refrain from engaging in any conduct that would prejudice carrying out duties ethically” (IMA Statement, 2012).  This statement indicates the necessity to avoid any situations that would even make it difficult for a professional to act in an ethical manner.  The third directive related to integrity found in the CEPP states that the professional should, “Abstain from engaging in or supporting any activity that might discredit the profession” (IMA Statement, 2012).  An example of behavior that would discredit the profession is intentional overstatement of cost of goods sold, which would reduce net income and resulting tax liability.

In very simple terms, the IMA principle of integrity calls on members to act in ways that do credit to the IMA, the profession of accounting, and perhaps more importantly, all parties relying on managerial accounting information.  Acting with integrity is not always an easy proposition for an individual in any profession.  For accounting specifically, acting with integrity can be even more difficult because of the financial stakes involved.  Often, managerial compensation is tied to company performance.  This condition can lead to pressure from management directed towards the accounting function to manipulate reporting to show better company performance than is the actual case. 

A great example of a parallel idea found in the Bible comes from the book of Philippians, which states, “Let each of you look not unto your own interests but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4, New Revised Standard Edition).  This verse shows the reader the importance of keeping the interests of all parties at heart, much the same way as outlined in the CEPP.  Always keeping the interests of others in the forefront can act as an acid test for ethical behavior in general.  If the managerial accountant is always thinking about his or her actions in terms of the implications on all stakeholders and then taking honest action based on those findings, it is much less likely the accountant will engage in behavior that shows a lack of integrity.