In this case the managerial accountant is faced with an ethical dilemma. It involves integrity and objectivity. The managerial accountant cannot request an immediate meeting with the Board of Directors. The appropriate way to deal with this problem is presenting the situation to the next higher managerial level firstly.
According to CIMA code of ethics for professional accountants, a distinguish mark of the accountancy profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest. [1]Therefore, a professional accountant’s responsibility is not exclusively to satisfy the needs of an individual client or employer. In acting in the public interest a professional accountant should observe and comply with the ethical requirements of the CIMA code. [2]
For instance, 100.4 of the code state that a professional accountant should be straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships. In this case, as managerial accountants, when suspecting our immediate superior of wrongdoing, we should report and support the related information to appropriate department. [3]
What's more, a managerial accountant ought to be objectivity, which means we should not allow bias, conflict of interest or undue influence of others to override professional or business judgments. Though he or she is our immediate superior, when they do something improperly, we still need to point out and impeach it. Besides, a professional account should comply with relevant laws and regulations and should avoid any action that discredits the profession. [4]
For instance, Wahaha, which is the biggest food and beverage production corporation in China and it had more than 100 joint holding branch offices among 29 provinces. In 2010, a managerial accountant who is work in Liaoning Province branch factory suspected his immediate superior of wrongdoing.
