About IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) IMA, the association of accountants and financial professionals in business, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 85,000 members in 140 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/ India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org.

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Ethical dilemmas relating to standards Austin Landers is the accountant for Sun Coast, a manufacturer of outdoor furniture that is sold through specialty stores and internet companies. Annually, Landers is responsible for reviewing the standard costs for the following year. While reviewing the standard costs for the coming year, two ethical issues arise. Use the IMA's Statement of Ethical Professional Practice (in Chapter 1) to identify the ethical dilemma in each situation. Identify the relevant factors in each situation and suggest what Landers should recommend to the controller Issue 1: Landers has been approached by Dara Willis, a former colleague who worked with Landers when they were both employed by a public accounting firm. Willis recently started her own firm, Willis Benchmarking Associates, which collects and sells data on industry benchmarks She offers to provide Landers with benchmarks for the outdoor furniture industry free of charge if he will provide her with the last three years of Sun Coast's standard and actual costs. Willis explains that this is how she obtains most of her firm's benchmarking data. Landers always has a difficult time with the standard-setting process and believes that the benchmark data would be very useful