How IMA Helps Finance Professionals Lead Ethically
October 15 is Global Ethics Day, an annual reminder that ethical leadership in finance isn't just about following rules. It's about protecting markets, companies, and the public trust that makes our profession possible.
The consequences of ethical failures are real and far-reaching. When a Macy's accountant intentionally hid small package delivery expenses from late 2021 through the third quarter of 2024, the company was forced to delay its earnings report and adjust its profitability forecast. Shareholder trust fractured overnight. According to a 2025 Deloitte report, ethical breaches like this can diminish share price, damage corporate reputations, erode customer confidence, and trigger increased regulatory scrutiny.
These aren't isolated incidents. Ethical lapses affect markets, companies, employees, and public trust. That's why accounting and finance professionals serve as "gatekeepers" of financial truth, and why organizations like IMA exist to support them in that role.
To be a member of IMA, you must abide by IMA’s Statement of Ethical Professional Practice. As a 100+ year old organization, IMA emphasizes the role of accounting and finance professionals as the “gatekeepers” of financial truth. For markets to function properly, accounting and finance professionals must report financial results accurately and provide transparency to investors about the financial health of organizations. Without ethics, there is no public trust in markets.
To ensure IMA members have the support they need to lead with ethics, IMA offers an Ethics Hotline and access to thought leadership from IMA’s Ethics Committee. We maintain an online Ethics Center with information on how to access these resources. Additionally, all of IMA’s ethics courses are free to members, underscoring the weight IMA places on ethical behavior among our membership.
IMA’s updated Competency Framework also reflects how professional values and ethics interact with other skills. For example, in a marketplace where implementing emerging technology is seen as critical for staying competitive, what are the ethical challenges associated with technology like AI?
One of the benefits of belonging to a professional association like IMA is peer-to-peer learning. IMA publications like Strategic Finance feature articles written by IMA members who share their perspective on creating an ethical culture or dealing with conflicts of interest. IMA also sponsors an annual ethics case competition and publishes an ethics feature of the year.
As ethical lapses become more prevalent (25% of employees report that they had been aware of misconduct or illegal activity at work in 2024 according to the Institute of Business Ethics), it is more important than ever for leaders to ensure their teams are receiving proper ethics training and support. This Global Ethics Day is a great opportunity to take advantage of the many free resources IMA offers to promote ethical behavior.