You are completing your final week of a work/study program with an accounting firm. You have been completing the accounting work of smaller clients assigned to a full- time accounting employee currently on sick leave. The last week of the work assignment, your manager assigns you a complicated reconciliation report related to large, profitable, and unfamiliar client. You are expected to you complete the report before your assignment ends.

You think the deadline issued is unrealistic, given the amount of data to be reviewed and complexity of the client. You have not completed a similar reconciliation report before and feel that you are not sufficiently experienced to complete the work alone. You want guidance and

additional supervision to complete the reconciliation accurately and timely, but your manager has not offered support or assigned a mentor. If you do not meet the deadline or complete the reconciliation incorrectly, your performance review and recommendation could be negatively affected. Your manager rarely communicates with you, you want to do a good job, and are generally overwhelmed.

Q1. Identify the issue(s) in relation to the four standards listed in the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice.

Q2. Identify the affected parties.

Q3. Who should be involved in the resolution?

Q4. Provide the best action plan to resolve the issues identified.

Below is the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Statement of Ethical Professional Practice

Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Statement of Ethical Professional Practice

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
IMA members have a responsibility to comply with and uphold the standards of Competence, Confidentiality, Integrity, and Credibility. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action.
I. COMPETENCE
Maintain an appropriate level of professional leadership and expertise by enhancing knowledge and skills.

Perform professional duties in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and technical standards.

Provide decision support information and recommendations that are accurate, clear, concise, and timely. Recognize and help manage risk.

II. CONFIDENTIALITY

Keep information confidential except when disclosure is authorized or legally required.

Inform all relevant parties regarding appropriate use of confidential information. Monitor to ensure compliance.

Refrain from using confidential information for unethical or illegal advantage.

III. INTEGRITY

Mitigate actual conflicts of interest. Regularly communicate with business associates to avoid apparent conflicts of interest. Advise all parties of any potential conflicts of interest.

Refrain from engaging in any conduct that would prejudice carrying out duties ethically.

Abstain from engaging in or supporting any activity that might discredit the profession.

Contribute to a positive ethical culture and place integrity of the profession above personal interests.

IV. CREDIBILITY

Communicate information fairly and objectively.

Provide all relevant information that could reasonably be expected to influence an intended user’s understanding of the reports, analyses, or recommendations.

Report any delays or deficiencies in information, timeliness, processing, or internal controls in conformance with organization policy and/or applicable law.

Communicate professional limitations or other constraints that would preclude responsible judgment or successful performance of an activity.

RESOLVING ETHICAL ISSUES
In applying the Standards of Ethical Professional Practice, the member may encounter unethical issues or behavior. In these situations, the member should not ignore them, but rather should actively seek resolution of the issue. In determining which steps to follow, the member should consider all risks involved and whether protections exist against retaliation.
When faced with unethical issues, the member should follow the established policies of his or her organization, including use of an anonymous reporting system if available.
If the organization does not have established policies, the member should consider the following courses of action:
The resolution process could include a discussion with the member’s immediate supervisor. If the supervisor appears to be involved, the issue could be presented to the next level of management.

IMA offers an anonymous helpline that the member may call to request how key elements of the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice could be applied to the ethical issue.

The member should consider consulting his or her own attorney to learn of any legal obligations, rights, and risks concerning the issue.

If resolution efforts are not successful, the member may wish to consider disassociating from the organization.