In this case, Diamond Foods was accused of "managing earnings" in an unethical manner. Provide two specific examples of how a company could ethically improve net income. a. Why do you think accounting personnel (the "finance team") seemed to "go along" with the schemes to understate the cost of walnuts in both fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2011? Provide as many possible reasons you can think of. b. Instead of agreeing to record the extra payments to growers as "advances" and, in effect, helping the company falsify the financial statements, what other alternative actions were available to the finance team? Consider professional standards, such as the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) Statement of Ethical Professional Practice or the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) Code of Professional Conduct, when answering this question. At the time of this writing, charges against Steven Neil, the former CFO of Diamond Foods, were still SAGE 2014 IMA Educational Case Journal. All rights reserved. SAGE Business Cases Page 8 of 12 Diamond Foods, Inc. pending. Conduct research to determine the status of these charges. In your opinion, why do you think Michael Mendes, the former CEO of Diamond Foods, chose to settle charges with the SEC, whereas Neil is disputing the charges?