The Professional Conduct & Ethics Committee of the CIMA Institute avers that investment and management accountants must acquit themselves in a manner that befits them as custodians of wealth and value of individuals and organizations. They must be mindful that the roles and responsibilities they assume, must inspire extreme trust among all individuals they interface with, and since, these roles and responsibilities demand unconditional honesty and complete accountability to virtually every organizational stakeholder, the conduct of CIMA® charter-holders must be directed at avoiding being defrauded, exploited and threatened by any party or individual.
CIMA® charter-holders are expected to appreciate that they operate in vastly more complex global environments marked by multiplicity of cultures and regulatory laws, and the personal, professional and organizational costs of lies, dishonesty, and frauds have become unaffordably high. CIMA® Qualified professionals are hence required to follow a behavior code built on the CIMA® pillars of ethics and enforced through the CIMA® principles of practice, and any behavior that is in breach of these values is unacceptable and may result in the CIMA Institute taking serious disciplinary action.
All CIMA® charter-holders are required to conduct themselves in keeping with the following four pillars of ethics as directed by the Professional Conduct & Ethics Committee of the CIMA Institute:
CIMA® charter-holders will always operate in their jobs with honest objectives and purposes, keeping uppermost in their mind the necessity of using and sharing truth in their analysis, decision-making, and reporting.
CIMA® charter-holders will always ensure that they will operate in their jobs with the intent that is fair to people, and which transparently informs them about the challenges and circumstances, objectives, and purposes of the actions or decisions being taken, and the reasons thereof.
CIMA® charter-holders will always ensure that they will be completely objective in their analysis of problems, situations, and books of finance and accounts; and will be sincere in their decision-making, avoiding all possibilities of extraneous, personal, professional, or ideological biases.
CIMA® charter-holders will always exhibit the highest regard for completing assignments on time with focus on delivering results; adding value to the process of management decision-making; and aiding managers and leaders with the most accurate accounting and financial data, information, insights, and intelligence they require to make decisions that are sound and beneficial for all stakeholders.
*Last Updated: February 2023
The CIMA® principles of practice guide CIMA® charter-holders in staying aligned to the CIMA® pillars of ethics. During the course of their professional practice as investment & management accountants, CIMA® charter-holders may encounter situations or behaviors (of colleagues/ seniors/ clients/ vendors/ government officials, etc.,) that are either blatantly dishonest and unacceptable, or which pose ethical dilemmas, and may confound CIMA® charter-holders about how must they respond to people and situations, and what must be their best course of action. In such eventualities, CIMA® charter-holders must attempt to act in consonance with the Principles of Practice laid down here. These principles are sacrosanct because they help CIMA® charter-holders deal effectively with ethical dilemmas and keep them the right side of law and justness, enabling them preserve with integrity and objectivity, their own fair interests and rights, as well as those of other stakeholders.
All CIMA® charter-holders will always ensure that their knowledge, understanding, and insights about laws, regulations, practices, and standards stay current, and their knowledge and skills of using latest tools and techniques of investment & management accounting are on point. Adhering to this principle will help CIMA® charter-holders take accurate, correct, clear, and effective decisions on the one hand, and on the other, help preempt risks of opportunity, and financial and reputational losses to their organizations.
All CIMA® charter-holders will operate in their profession with utmost honesty, avoiding all temptations or acts or decisions that may give rise to conflicts of interest, or present a perception of abuse of one’s power or designation, or position. CIMA® charter-holders will also operate their actions and decisions without bias, prejudice, or discrimination against person(s), group(s), community(ities), or organization(s). Adherence to this principle helps ensure that CIMA® charter-holders become examples for others and generate an atmosphere of trust and fairness among stakeholders.
All CIMA® charter-holders will work diligently, conscientiously, and maintain confidentiality for the benefit of all parties involved, constantly ensuring to avoid creation of opportunities and situations of confusion, exploitation, abuse of power, and unfair advantage. They will exercise informed and ethical judgment about when to disclose confidential information and who to; and refrain from leaking, contorting, or abusing confidential Information for unfair, unjust, and illegal personal benefit for self or their acquaintances. Adherence to this principle helps CIMA® charter-holders become examples for others; create an environment of trust, and also ensures that people and parties dealing with CIMA® charter-holders understand them as unmanipulable, and treat them with utmost respect, besides inspiring a feeling of trust and fairness among them.
All CIMA® charter-holders will always ensure that their verbal, non-verbal communication and conduct with internal or external stakeholders will be courteous, polite, frank, objective, empathetic, and fair, and that they will always share all information, data, facts about challenges, problems results, successes and failures in an objective manner, without understating or exaggeration. Adhering to this principle will help CIMA® charter-holders build their credibility as professionals who are not technically competent alone, but are fair, just, and mindful as well, of the needs of their stakeholders and are seriously sincere about helping them in their work, or in resolving their problems in a meaningful and fair manner.
All CIMA® charter-holders will always ensure even as they conduct themselves honestly, with fairness, objectivity, empathy, and good intent, they must also constantly protect themselves from harm or threats to their physical, professional, and social wellbeing at all times. This, they must ensure by being circumspect; cautious; resourceful, alert, tactful, calm, and courageous in the face of challenges or adverse circumstances. CIMA® charter-holders must have confidence in the strength of their goodness and honesty and avoid impulsive actions or reactions in tough or adverse situations, and they must deploy tact, intelligence, and promptness in seeking all available assistance in times of threat, duress, confusion, and in all other kinds of pressures.
*Last Updated: January 2022
