Ethics Archives - Strategic Finance

Tone at the Top vs. Tune in the Middle

Direct supervisors may have even more influence to create an organization-wide ethical culture than upper management.

Ethics Must Be Global

Multinational companies need to embrace a universal code of ethics and apply it everywhere they operate around the world.

IESBA Proposes Revisions to Independence Standards

The IAESB released two exposure drafts with revised standards that would further reinforce auditor independence.

Increase Your Whistleblowing IQ

You must report unethical conduct, and if you become a whistleblower, then follow protocol to ensure that you’re protected.

SEC Whistleblower Report Issued

The SEC’s annual whistleblower program report revealed that it got 5,200-plus tips in FY 2019 and made a $37 million award.

AI Isn’t Neutral

Professionals must be aware of machine-learning algorithms’ potential biases to overcome AI’s ethical challenges.

SEC Whistleblower Program Expands

Management accountants must help their company prepare for increases in wrongdoing detection and whistleblower protections.

Techniques to Overcome Biases

Accounting and finance professionals must take concrete steps to encourage ethical conduct and good decision making.

The Ethics of Corporate Social Responsibility

The Business Roundtable statement advocating for CSR appears to be a good first step toward reinforcing ethical conduct.

Cultivating Ethics Via Behavioral Science

Behavioral science techniques can be adapted to company culture to create a strong ethical environment.

Transparency Is the Bedrock of Ethics

The benefits of a culture of transparency and an ongoing ethical climate make all the work involved worth the effort.

Identifying Common Judgment Traps and Biases

When professionals commit an ethics violation, it can be attributed to ethical blind spots that affect their decision making.

Adapting Accounting Ethics to New Technology

The rapid transformation of technology has led to technological disruption and ethical issues that affect accountants.

Data Ethics: Doing the Right Thing with Data

Organizational leaders should be asking several key questions in data ethics policies and data compliance models.

Credibility Is Paramount

Credibility is important for management accountants and finance professionals in integrative workplace environments.

When Best Intentions Aren’t Enough

Sometimes good-intentioned or normally ethical professionals suffer a lapse in judgment or commit misconduct.

Remembering Curt Verschoor

Longtime Strategic Finance Ethics column writer and IMA member Curt Verschoor has passed away at age 87.

Strong Ethics Benefits All Stakeholders

Combining ethics and the principles of stakeholder theory can lead to the establishment of a stronger ethical culture.

IMA and International Business Ethics

IMA has long promoted the essential importance of the highest ethical standards in management accounting around the world.

Lack of Audit Quality Is Alarming

Concerns over the need to improve audit quality have moved to the forefront in the aftermath of recent scandals.

Accounting Fraud at Japanese Companies

The economic environment and corporate culture helped create an environment conducive to ethical scandals and fraud.

The Ethicality of Earnings Management

A study finds that managers consider public perceptions when deciding whether they should participate in earnings management.

Ethical Challenges in the Workplace Persist

Pressure to violate ethics guidelines has increased and issues like fraud and abuse remain problems in business.

Do Large Earnings Surprises Result from Manipulation?

A study finds companies engage in greater earnings management in order to trigger a favorable stock-market reaction.

Carillion Failure Raises Questions about Consulting Services

With Carillion’s liquidation, the issue of accounting firms providing consulting services to clients again takes center stage.

Millennials’ View of Business Ethics Sinks Sharply

A survey reveals Millennials have a negative view of businesses’ motivations and don’t believe they act ethically.

Survey of Workplace Ethics

There’s both good and bad news to be found in ECI’s latest State of Ethics & Compliance in the Workplace report.

Measuring Social Impact

IPADE Business School prioritizes ethics and values in its graduates, and it developed a model to measure success in that area.

Striking Jump in Business Fraud and Crime

A PwC survey shows an increase in fraud and economic crime around the world. Here are four steps to help fight fraud.

The Art of Ethics

IMA is committed to the highest ethical practices. Members have several resources to draw on to master the art of ethics.

Are Fines for Unethical Behavior Enough?

Despite having paid billions in penalties over the years, HSBC continues to find itself in trouble for ethical lapses.

Trust Level Drops Dramatically in the U.S.

The Edelman Trust Barometer found a significant decline in trust across all institutions in the United States.

How Colleges Hide Investments to Avoid Taxes

Offshore corporations in tax haven countries help schools pay fewer taxes on investment income from their large endowments.

Paradise Papers Show Secrecy and Tax Avoidance

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists uncovered evidence of wide-ranging fraud and tax evasion.

“Are You Lying to Me?”

Given the threat of fraud in business, the ability to spot lies and deception is a valuable skill for management accountants.

Ethical Culture Moves to Center Stage

A number of organizations and governing bodies now view a strong ethical culture as a key component to corporate governance.

U.S. Enforcement Actions Go Global

Companies need to act ethically in all their operations around the world, or they risk facing the consequences.

The Trust Gap in Organizations

To be successful, leaders need to always work at creating, maintaining, and demonstrating trust in their relationships.

Wells Fargo Scandal Continues

The banking and financial services company disclosed that its fraudulent activity was broader than originally reported.

Sustainability Reporting Increases

The Governance & Accountability Institute has released a study examining environmental, social, and corporate governance reporting.

Uber Culture Causes Big Losses

The culture at Uber Technologies contributed to significant missteps and a bad reputation for the company.

A Trusting Ethical Culture Needs Truth

Creating and modeling an environment of trust helps maintain respect, understanding, and openness within an organization.

Doing the Right Thing: IMA Updates Ethics Guidance

The revised IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice continues IMA’s commitment to core ethical principles.

Trouble with Transfer Pricing

The 2017 winner of the Carl Menconi Case Writing Competition centers on the dilemma faced by a newly promoted manager.

RULES-BASED CULTURE LEADS TO DYSFUNCTION

Incidents at United Airlines help show how a rules-based code of ethics can limit employees’ choices to resolve problems.

ALIGNING CULTURE WITH COMPANY GOALS

A tool from ACCA helps companies establish a positive culture that supports and contributes to achieving organizational goals.

TRUST IN INSTITUTIONS IS ERODING

According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in all institutions has gone down across the board.

WHISTLEBLOWER AWARDS INCREASE

The IRS and SEC both report more payments to reward whistleblowers who reported fraud and other wrongdoing.

Practices for Fighting Fraud

A report from the Anti-Fraud Collaboration describes accounting policies that can help organizations fight fraud.

Nonprofit Fraud: How Good Are Your Internal Controls?

With limited resources, nonprofit organizations often put little effort into preventing fraud, but that makes them more vulnerable.

Antibribery Efforts in Brazil

To help fight corruption, Brazil has enacted legislation to deter businesses from bribing public officials—both foreign and domestic.

Machine Learning, Human Fraud

With AI dominating headlines, preventing these intelligent machines from enabling fraud remains a significant concern.

Embed Ethics within Business Practices

Corporate compliance and ethics programs are more effective when efforts are incorporated into everyday operations.

ETHICS ATTITUDES DIFFER AMONG GENERATIONS

Understanding each generation’s approaches to ethical issues can help companies communicate their ethics policies.

JPMorgan Hit with Whistleblower Damages

The bank reportedly violated the whistleblower provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in firing and punishing a broker.

Is Your Company Empowering Whistleblowers?

Nurturing company-wide attitudes, perceived norms, and perceived control fosters an improved environment for whistleblowing.

Trust as a Constant

The need for trust in business hasn’t changed over time—another. reason to ensure it remains at the core of business values.

GLOBAL SURVEY MEASURES WORKPLACE INTEGRITY

A global study finds the impact that a positive, ethical culture can have on productivity and performance.

Ethics Update: Volkswagen Emissions Scandal Escalates

VW included $18 billion in its 2015 financial results to cover the costs of buybacks, compensation, and repairs.

LESSONS FROM THE WELLS FARGO SCANDAL

The banking scandal provides a number of lessons that management accountants can learn from and use in their own companies.

$100M to Whistleblowers

The SEC has now awarded more than $100 million for tips received through its whistleblower program.

GLOBAL SURVEYS MEASURE NONFINANCIAL REPORTING

The number of companies around the world that report on sustainability and other nonfinancial issues continues to grow.

Books: FUNDAMENTALS OF FRAUD

The word “fraud” is everywhere. But fraud can only happen in large, impersonal corporations, right? Wrong!

NEW GLOBAL STANDARD FOR DISCLOSURE OF ILLEGAL ACTS

The IESBA provides new guidance for how and when professional accountants should disclose actual or suspected illegal activities.

Trust Deficit in the Workplace

Trust between employees and employers is vital to success. Lack of trust can have a significant impact on a company’s culture.

Hiring Ethical Employees

Having the right skills and experience isn’t enough. Hiring managers also want to see integrity and honesty in a candidate.

Local Responsibility in a Global Landscape

Do companies have an ethical responsibility to contribute to the communities that helped nurture their success?

Ethics Update: Volkswagen Scandal Escalates

VW faces increased criticism for its emissions remediation plans.

Six Ways to Teach Ethics

Teaching right from wrong isn’t always straightforward. These strategies can help you provide lasting lessons for students and professionals.

The Importance of Trust

Trust is a fundamental component to behaving ethically—for people and businesses.

Pharma Companies Need Fewer Unethical Practices

Drug makers still employ questionable tactics when promoting and pricing their products.

Ethics Update: Volkswagen

The cost of VW’s unethical actions keeps climbing.

Six Unethical Practices that Need to Stop

These practices allow for greater tax advantages for the wealthy, contributing to income disparity.

SEC SUPERCHARGES WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAM

As the SEC improves its whistleblower program, companies must do more to encourage reporting of unlawful conduct and to discourage retaliatory behaviors.

Update: Apple Settles Tax Dispute with Italy

Apple recently reached a settlement with Italy regarding the company’s aggressive tax practices.

The Volkswagen Problem

The nature of VW’s fraud raises a number of difficult questions to answer.

Ethical Behavior for Management Accountants

Several organizations provide guidelines and standards of ethical conduct for management accountants.

Update: For-Profit College Giant Settles Fraud

Education Management Corp. (EDMC) settled an illegal recruiting and consumer fraud whistleblower lawsuit with the U.S. government.

Update: Why CEOs Manipulate Earnings

CEOs use several rationalizations for managing earnings. An update to the December 2015 Ethics column.

BLOWING THE WHISTLE

IMA® conducted a survey to find out how companies are making it safer for employees to report unethical and fraudulent behavior.

THE TROUBLE WITH EARNINGS MANAGEMENT

Managing earnings to meet analysts’ expectations is relatively common, but it creates a distorted view of the company’s performance.

UPDATE: VOLKSWAGEN SCANDAL

Volkswagen’s scandal of “cheating” on U.S. government emissions tests for nitrogen oxide has grown.

TOSHIBA’S TOXIC CULTURE

Profit estimates that were too embarrassing to report resulted in overstatements amounting to $1.9 billion.

TOO BIG TO JAIL?

Banks and finance companies receive large fines for unethical actions, but very few people go to jail for participating.

The Student Debt Crisis

Students are taking on increasingly more debt, but they aren’t being adequately prepared to pay it off.

NEWS FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS

The SEC issued a new rule that clarifies the definition of a whistleblower.

WHISTLEBLOWERS TAKE BIG RISKS

Many people aren’t aware of their rights and protections if they blow the whistle, and retaliation remains a common threat.

BRAND X COMPANY’S 300% Tariff

This year’s winning case is about a furniture manufacturer that runs into problems when it imports products from China.

OVERCOMING THE FRAUD TRIANGLE

A report outlines strategies to help companies address the financial pressure and rationalization aspects of the fraud triangle.

Everyday Ethics: Tougher than you think

Our unconscious, innate biases can affect our decision making in surprising ways.

Book Review: Overcoming Global Bribery

As business becomes increasingly global, companies that expand need to comply with the growing number of anticorruption laws.

Why Are Only Teachers Jailed for Cheating?

Some involved in the Atlanta cheating scandal received jail sentences. Yet Wall Street executives who cheat the public rarely do.

NSA Program Deemed Illegal

The NSA program that collected millions of Americans’ data has been found unlawful by a federal court.

SHATTERED TRUST: FRAUD IN THE FAMILY

Even in family-owned businesses, proper internal controls are a necessary deterrent to fraud.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RESPECT

Respect—both showing it and earning it—is a necessary element for a successful career.

TOOLS FOR ETHICAL SUCCESS

The notable ethics failures of 2014 give insight into the actions companies can take to protect an ethical culture.

THREE PILLARS OF FRAUD DETERRENCE AND DETECTION

A strong tone at the top, skepticism, and robust communication in financial reporting are key aspects of fraud prevention.

SEC’s EXCEPTION PAYS BIG

For the first time, the SEC has awarded a whistleblower under an exception to a rule.

IMA NEWS: ETHICS HONORS

The list of 2015 Top Thought Leaders in Trust includes two IMA leaders.

ETHICS: Oversight of Credit Raters Still Lacks Teeth

Regulators aren’t doing enough to penalize credit rating agencies and discourage unethical behavior.

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