BONUS | Global Ethics Day 2021

Contact Russ Porter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russporter42/
Contact Margaret Michaels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-michaels/

IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants): https://www.imanet.org/

IMA's Ethics Center: https://www.imanet.org/career-resources/ethics-center

Members of IMA shall behave ethically. A commitment to ethical professional practice includes overarching principles that express our values and standards that guide member conduct.
IMA’s overarching ethical principles include: Honesty, Fairness, Objectivity, and Responsibility. Members shall act in accordance with these principles and shall encourage others within their organizations to adhere to them.
IMA members have a responsibility to comply with and uphold the standards of Competence, Confidentiality, Integrity, and Credibility. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Mitch: (00:05)
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Count Me In, IMA's podcast about all things affecting the accounting and finance world. I'm your host Mitch Roshong. And today I will be previewing a special bonus episode in our series. October 20th is global ethics day, a day created by the Carnegie council for ethics in international affairs. Global ethics day is an annual moment to empower ethics through the actions of individuals in organizations. It takes place annually on the third Wednesday of every October, ethics lies at the heart of the management accounting profession, and IMA considers ethics to be foundational to its work in core values. For this special count me in podcast, in honor, of this day, we are delighted to have IMA's CFO, Russell Porter discuss why ethics is so important to management, accounting and financial oversight for organizations. IMA's manager of brand content and storytelling, Margaret Michaels will ask for us to share his experiences working in management, accounting, some of the ethical dilemmas that can arise and how he learned to navigate questions around ethics to steer the organizations he has worked for in the right direction. Russ will also provide information on IMA resources that are available to members who want to learn more about navigating ethics. So to hear more about this very important topic, let's head over and listen to their conversation now.

Margaret: (01:34)
So welcome Russ to IMA's Count Me In. We are so happy you could join us for this special and important episode.

Russ: (01:41)
Pleasure to be here, Margaret, and, thanks for, initiating this discussion about ethics. It's a personal favorite topic of mine.

Margaret: (01:48)
I know you are very interested in helping IMA members navigate ethical questions and issues they face every day in their work. You even did an unscientific LinkedIn poll asking what the most important ethics issue facing accounting and finance professionals today is. What did you find out? And what do you believe is the most pressing issue they face?

Russ: (02:11)
Yeah, it's funny, Margaret. Unsurprisingly, I did not get a lot of responses. And a lot of the ones I did get were in one-to-one messages, as opposed to being on the LinkedIn message board. Ethics is one of those areas that people often don't like to talk about. Despite the fact that we read about issues of ethical lapses in the papers all the time, that said, when you look for them around any business environment, you'll see plenty of ethical issues. Most of them are addressed right up front in a company's culture, but when the ethical component of culture isn't strong enough, the temptation to overlook principles can overwhelm people. Keep in mind, also there are, in my mind, two types of ethics to consider: the macro and the micro. The micro is the one people often think about where an individual or a small group has to make a decision between the right way and the wrong way as if decisions were that black and white, but there are also macro ethical issues like sustainability, equitable treatment, proper governance, those are affected by individual decisions, but they can often have a much wider impact.

Margaret: (03:25)
Yes, I agree. I think we are seeing those wider impact issues around us every day. I know that I am much more aware of those macro issues. And I do think that business has really been stepping up to the plate to try to address public concerns related to the climate or income inequality or gender bias or racial injustice through their work on sustainability. In this way, sustainability really has an ethical dimension beyond just reporting non financials. Is this a change you welcome in the profession and how does sustainability change the paradigm for accounting and finance professionals from an ethical perspective?

Russ: (04:07)
So Margaret, all those items you just mentioned under the umbrella of sustainability economists call them externalities because in theory, these are effects that don't directly impact an organization making the decision. And for that reason, management accountants often exclude sustainability issues from a relevant cost benefit analysis. That idea of what costs are relevant to an organization. It's really been expanding though, in the eyes of consumers, regulators, and investors, they're all taking those elements into account when making their buying or investing decisions as society increases the focus on those areas, through the lens of ethical treatment of the planet and society, accountants, ignore those issues at their peril. I would also point out that, you know, perspectives on some of these macro ethical issues can vary greatly. Different cultures, whether those cultures are based upon geography, religion, political affiliation, or any other factor, they'll interpret an ethical approach to issues differently. Now exploring these different perspectives, that can really be valuable in increasing our understanding of the topics. But it's really important to be aware of how the societies in which we operate view these issues. For an management accountant, that perspective and that understanding - that's crucial.

Margaret: (05:39)
Those macro ethical issues do have many dimensions and awareness of that fact is critical for the accounting and finance profession, as well as society at large. And since we're on the topic of macro issues and changes affecting society, I think it's a good time to up something that has literally transformed the profession, which is technology and digitization. At IMA, we are acutely aware of how technologies like automation, AI, and data analytics have changed the way management accountants work. Upskilling in technology is something we champion, but while the technical skills involved with these technologies are significant, so are the ethical questions. What is your view of technology from an ethics perspective?

Russ: (06:28)
So Margaret, digitization, it's not just affecting the accounting profession, it's affecting almost every element of our lives and in society today. And there's a lot of good that comes out in terms of both individual, as well as societal welfare. That said, the application of technology, if not done well. Well, that can also exacerbate existing tendencies to a detrimental effect. For example, we've been hearing the term algorithmic bias lately, and that is the propensity for technology driven...