Violations of ethical standards (Learning Objective 4)

The IMA’s Statement of Ethical Professional Practice (Exhibit 1-6) requires manage¬ ment accountants to meet standards regarding:

• Competence.

• Confidentiality.

• Integrity.

• Credibility.

Consider the following situations. Which guidelines are violated in each situation?

a. You tell your brother that your company will report earnings significantly above financial analysts’ estimates.

b. You see that other employees take home office supplies for personal use. As an intern, you do the same thing, assuming that this is a “perk.”

c. At a conference on e-commerce, you skip the afternoon session and go sightsee¬ ing.

d. You failed to read the detailed specifications of a new general ledger package that you asked your company to purchase. After it is installed, you are surprised that it is incompatible with some of your company’s older accounting software.

e. You do not provide top management with the detailed job descriptions they requested because you fear they may use this information to cut a position from your department.