Objectivity: A Redundant Dimension Of The Management Accountants Code Of Ethics

Abstract

A Hallmark of any profession is the presence of a Code of Ethics which can be defined and defended The National Association of Accountants Code of Ethics sets standards for practicing management accountants and students aspiring to become management accountants. This study empirically evaluated the content validity of the current code of ethics. Using Flanagans Critical Incident Technique, interviews were held with 25 Certified Management Accountants from major corporations. The data from the interviews were assembled into a mail questionnaire. Based on responses to the questionnaire, six ethical categories and 191 specific behavior describing the categories were identified and validated. The results provide empirical support for the current code of ethics, with the exception of the Objectivity category. There was a lack of consensus regarding behaviors to be classified to the Objectivity category. The results indicate that the Objectivity standards of the current code are obscure and tend to repeat the Integrity standards. Such results raise the question Are the Objectivity standards of the current code of ethics necessary?