Chapter 9, Problem 9.16SE

Identify ethical standards violated (Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, & 4)

ETHICS

For each of the situations listed, identify the primary standard from the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice that is violated (competence, confidentiality, objectivity, or credibility). Refer to Exhibit 1-7 for the complete standard.

1. 1. Ryan, an accountant for Black Hat Company, builds some slack into the budget for the Human Resources (HR) Department so that the targets are easier to achieve. Ryan is dating the manager of the HR Department.
2. 2. Daniel knows that the laws concerning credit and debit card fees have changed in the past year but does not know what the changes are specifically. He does not investigate before preparing the cash budget.
3. 3. When out with friends, Maureen complains loudly about the budgeting process at her company. She feels the budgeting process is overly precise. She illustrates her point with specific numbers from the budget.
4. 4. Mackenzie is the controller for Shady Hollow Parks. When she prepares the budgets for the upcoming year for upper management, she realizes that her department has higher costs than any other department. She aggregates the numbers with some other departments so that it is not obvious that her department is overspending.
5. 5. Carly is caught on video as she brags about illegally downloading software that she feels is overpriced. The video is uploaded to YouTube.