The Institute of Managerial Accounts (IMA) was established in the year 1919 and has the mission of promoting knowledge and professionalism in cost accountants. The IMA observes that its members should behave ethically and that they should have four basic standards which should guide their conduct. The four standards are competence, confidentiality, integrity, and credibility. Accountants that follow these principles will act ethically in most of their decisions and promote goodness in the society. The principles of IMA are also similar to the guiding principles that have been laid out in the Bible. This paper analyzes the IMA standards of competence and compares them with the biblical principles.
The establishment of the IMA standards and their guidelines of operation are similar to the bible. One of the critical observations of the standards is that IMA members are required to uphold the standards and failure to comply to the standards could result in some forms of disciplinary action. This is similar to the Biblical observation that notes that discipline is important. Proverbs 3:11 observes that “ My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke.” The presence of a disciplinary action when laying out the rules of operation is both apparent in the IMA and biblical principles.
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The first IMA standard observes competence where an individual should perform their duties based on the appropriate laws, regulations, and standards that have been established. There are multiple calculations expected by an accountant such as profit analysis and accountants are expected to prepare this accurately to give an accurate analysis of a company ( Garrison, Noreen & Brewer, 2018 ). The standard of competence is also apparent in the bible in the verse that states “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). This verse shows that it is also expected for Christians to be a great workman that shows various traits of competence such as accuracy by correctly undertaking their work.
The standard of confidentiality observes that information should be kept confidential and not used for unethical or illegal advantage unless it would be required legally. Proverbs observes the same principle in Proverbs 11:13 which observes that “ Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.” This shows that it is expected for those that hold Biblical principles to uphold secrets of their undertaking and show themselves to be trustworthy.
Integrity and credibility also mark the guiding biblical principles in the bible. Eragula (2015) observes that King David was a great leader who showed great integrity. He is today remembered for his ethical and moral standards. Winston (2019) also observes that credibility and integrity can be seen through the parable of the Talents. The servants were expected to show integrity and credibility with the handling of the property that the master had left to them.
In conclusion, the analysis of the IMA standards shows that they all align with the Biblical principles. This is important as it shows that the IMA standards are not simply based on the guidelines of men but that they also have the approval of God. People that follow the standards are thus expected to conduct themselves based on the standards will be able to conduct themselves correctly in both the eyes of men and God.
References
Eragula, R. (2015). A Blend of Integrity and Skill in Leadership. Advances in Economics and Business Management , 2 (11), 1067-1069.
Garrison, R., Noreen, E., & Brewer, P. (2018). Managerial Accounting and Cost Concepts. In Managerial Accounting (16th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
King James Bible 2017 edition, Arcturus Publishing Limited .
Winston, B. E. (2019). Parable of the Talents: Integrity, Credibility, and Accountability. In Biblical Principles of Being an Employee in Contemporary Organizations (pp. 59-63). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
