Ethical Dilemmas

Facing a situation where you’re not sure of the best course of action can be stressful. This page is full of resources which can help guide you towards making good decisions.

Ethics in Action: Dilemmas

Multitasking during a pandemic

COVID-19 has completely changed the way we work. What would you do if someone in your team was struggling to cope?

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Expense fraud

Would you recognise an attempt to commit expense fraud?

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Is this a bribe?

Would you recognise an attempt to influence your judgement?

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Confidentiality within an organisation

What should you do when asked to share confidential information as part of an investigation into misconduct?

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Non-financial reporting

What should you do if pressured to produce misleading reports relating to environmental data?

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An ex-colleague is being rude about your employer on social media. You're not very impressed with the company either. Is it okay to criticise your employer on social media? Is there anything you should consider?

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Employing family members

Is it okay to offer a job to a family member?

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Financial struggles amid COVID-19

COVID-19 is presenting lots of us with difficult decisions. Find out how the CIMA Code of Ethics can help guide decision making.

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Confidentiality

Can you share confidential information from a previous employer?

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Peer pressure and coursework

You're a CIMA student and some university friends pressure you to let them copy your work. What should you do? And could it affect your CIMA qualification?

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Professional competence

You're a fairly new to accountancy and your manager asks you to complete some work in an area where you have limited experience. You don't feel confident that you yet have the skills or knowledge to do a good job. What should you do?

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Self-interest threat

Imagine you become aware that another accountant is fiddling the numbers to make sure you all achieve a bonus. Would you tell anyone?

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Gifts and inducements

Would you recognise an attempt to influence your judgement?

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Misleading reporting

Think about how you would react to being asked to producing misleading reports.

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Have you ever faced an ethical dilemma at work? Ethical dilemmas could involve you seeing something which seems wrong, or finding yourself in a situation where you’re just not sure how to react.

Read an article: Identifying ethical dilemmas in the workplace

Read an article: Being ethical in the face of wrongdoing

Read a blog post: ‘Facing ethical dilemmas’

Watch some videos about ethical dilemmas

When you face an ethical dilemma, CIMA’s ethics checklist can be a useful resource to help you consider the best course of action.

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In this video, members of our Professional Standards Committee give some top tips on how to react when you’re facing an ethical dilemma.