IMA ETHICS HELPLINE

For clarification of how the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice applies to your ethical dilemma, contact the IMA Ethics Helpline.

In the U.S. or Canada, dial (800) 245-1383. In other countries, dial the AT&T USA Direct Access Number from www.business.att.com /collateral/access.html, then the above number.

The IMA Helpline is designed to provide clarification of provisions in the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, which contains suggestions on how to resolve ethical conflicts. The helpline cannot be considered a hotline to report specific suspected ethical violations.

trusted group with moral and ethical responsibilities to do their part.”

The reputation of the profession hinges on its adherence to ethics. The International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards), or the Code, issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), outlines fundamental principles that establish a strong baseline of expectations for ethical behavior and a responsibility for accountants to act in the public interest. That plays a crucial role in the Code’s Responding to Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR) standard, which obligates accountants to root out corruption and fraud, including embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion.

“Accountants simply cannot turn a blind eye,” Hanson says. “The standard lays out a framework to guide accountants in responding to NOCLAR.”

NOCLAR has been implemented worldwide. Consistent with accountants’ public-interest responsibility, a potential response to corruption or fraud is becoming a whistleblower by disclosing the matter to an appropriate authority.

“To be most effective, NOCLAR needs to be supplemented by robust whistleblower-protection legislation,” Hanson says. SF

Daniel Butcher is the finance editor at IMA and staff liaison to IMA’s Committee on Ethics. You can reach him at daniel .butcher@imanet.org