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Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the IMA's Standards of Ethical Conduct for Management Accountants. The code has served the members of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) well, but significant political and economic developments are changing the practice of management accounting worldwide. In 1992, the Council of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA) in the United Kingdom adopted a new code, Ethical Guidelines, which supersedes the 1987 Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct and competence. The adoption of a new code of ethics that takes a more global perspective provides an opportunity to evaluate the IMA's code through comparison.
The CIMA code, a 30-page document, has a broader scope than the IMA code inasmuch as it applies to both public accounting and management accounting. Accountants who hold the CMA in the U.K. are found in both public and private (nonpublic) accounting positions. IMA members, in contrast, have a narrower code, designed specifically for management accountants.
The CIMA code defines the person subject to its requirements and provides a glossary of terms. A glossary of key terms serves not only as an aid in understanding the ethical standard but also as a means for making them precise....