October marks the celebration of Global Ethics Day, an international, annual moment to help raise awareness for ethics in the daily lives of individuals, the decisions of corporations, and the creation of laws and policies. Created by Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Global Ethics Day was first held in 2014 and since then, individuals from more than 75 countries have participated in educational and learning activities on the topic. IMA^® (Institute of Management Accountants) Global and other IMA offices around the world will be joining in to commemorate this important occasion.

Noted Lee Ann DeRita, CMA, CFE, assistant dean at North Carolina State University and chair of IMA’s Committee on Ethics, “Global Ethics Day provides a dedicated opportunity to focus on ethical issues that cross all boundaries throughout the world. And as IMA's membership has become increasingly global, our members are engaging in meaningful and thought-provoking dialogue to explore the most pressing ethical dilemmas of the day.

“This year’s Global Ethics Day holds special meaning, as we all continue to recognize how the pandemic has changed our lives and required us to adapt to new circumstances. IMA's role in ethical professional practice, part of the historic legacy of our association, continues to grow and so has our Committee on Ethics, which now has more significant representation from around the world. This robust inclusivity has enabled our committee to expand its global ethical lens.”

New Ethics Course

Speaking of ethics, as the end of the year approaches, it’s time for IMA certified members to make sure they earn their required two hours of CPE in ethics before December 31, 2021 (CMAs must earn a total of 30 hours of CPE per year).*

IMA offers a variety of courses on the topic of ethics as part of its IMA Ethics Series. Recently, IMA made an important change and began offering all of its ethics courses free to members as an exclusive member benefit. No need to use an ethics token; members simply enter their member ID when purchasing a course and the fees cancel out.

IMA’s most recent ethics course, released last month, is “IMA Ethics Series: Mission Impossible: When Benchmarks Undermine Ethics,” which explores behavioral ethics by comparing individuals’ actions to expected professional behavior. This course is based on two IMA Educational Case Journal (IECJ^®) case studies, "A Cash Cow?" and "Troubled Waters: An Outsourced Ethical Dilemma," as well as the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice. Both cases are inspired by true events and involve individuals who are faced with achieving benchmarks that are unattainable without fraudulent behavior. The course is worth 2 NASBA CPE credits.

*Members can track their CPE using IMA’s CPE tracking tool in their myIMA profile. CPE received outside of IMA must be added to an IMA transcript. IMA accepts up to 10 credits as carryover to 2022.