Three professors from Eastern Kentucky University—Justin Stearns, Ph.D., assistant professor; Michael Fore, J.D., assistant professor; and Sarah Feltus, Ph.D., assistant professor—who co-wrote the case “A Dilemma at Ground Zero: Strategic Performance Measurement, Internal Controls, and Professional Ethics” have won the 2022 Carl Menconi Ethics Case Writing Competition. 

The competition, sponsored jointly by the IMA Committee on Ethics and IMA’s Professor-in-Residence Laurie Burney, Ph.D., CMA, CSCA, CPA (TN-Inactive), works to develop and distribute teaching cases focused on business ethics. Submissions must focus on business ethics, with specific application to management accounting and finance issues, and reference the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice. The competition is open to academics as well as practitioners, and joint submissions are encouraged. More information is available at Carl Menconi Case Competition. 

This year’s winning case tells the story of Isabella McGill, who lands a great entry-level position at Ground Zero, a vertically integrated coffee supply enterprise. Soon after joining Ground Zero, however, Isabella becomes concerned about practices at the district to which she is assigned. She discovers numerous warning signs of potential fraud by the district manager, but her concerns are complicated by the emotional appeal of the situation and the hardships suffered by the manager’s family. Isabella must decide how to navigate this ethical dilemma and choose a course of action by examining a variety of moral perspectives.

The case will be featured in the July 2022 issue of Strategic Finance. Stearns, Fore, and Feltus also will receive a $500 cash prize and be recognized by IMA. The team will be part of an upcoming Faculty Friday webinar on June 3 (see related story in this issue).

Deadline Extended for Emerging Scholar Award

To allow more time for researchers to participate in this esteemed program, IMA has extended the deadline for its Emerging Scholar Award to May 1, 2022. 

This award recognizes an early-career researcher who has made a meaningful and important contribution to the applied management accounting literature. Nominees must have published at least one single-authored manuscript or a co-authored article where they were the lead author. Nominees must have a terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., DBA, Ed.D.) and have received their degree within the prior five years. Recipients of this award will receive an award of $2,500. 

Please visit the Emerging Scholar Award section of our awards page to learn more and to apply by the May 1 deadline.