Ethics helpline and support

Use our ethics checklist to guide you through an ethical dilemma.

Email: cima.ethics@aicpa-cima.com

Phone: +44 (0) 20 3814 2303

Due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the fact that many of our staff are working remotely, the most reliable method for accessing ethics support at this time is via email. Contacting us via email allows us to send links to resources which may help with your dilemma.

If you call and no one is available, please either contact us via email or leave a voicemail requesting a call back.

Our helpline and inbox offer free and confidential support for members and students. We can provide guidance relating to the Code and help you consider possible courses of action. CIMA cannot provide legal or technical/accountancy guidance – we can only help to guide you through the Code of Ethics. The ethics inbox and helpline are confidential - we do not require you to give your CIMA ID, your full name or to use a business email address.

We aim to respond to you within two working days.

Tel: 0800 092 1980 or +44 (0)1275 376031 (Available Monday-Friday 08:00 to 20:00 GMT/BST)

If your query to the ethics helpline or inbox has a legal element we may refer you to an external legal helpline for a free consultation. This is paid for by CIMA and you need a referral code. 

This service is provided by Law Express which also offers low cost professional legal advice for all personal, commercial and employment issues. The service is also available to your partner and any dependent children under 21 years. Please quote your CIMA ID when calling. Your call is only free if you have been referred by the CIMA Ethics helpline.

CIMA will not advise you whether you should submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) or whether circumstances you describe should lead to an SAR being made. If you have actual knowledge or suspicions of money laundering or terrorist financing, or reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting a client or colleague of being involved with money laundering or terrorist financing, then you are obliged to report this immediately to the National Crime Agency in the UK OR the relevant Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in your jurisdiction.

Please do not provide details of suspicious activity to CIMA as this may create reporting obligations for us. Refer to this guide in respect of SAR reporting.

CIMA cannot accept or deal with whistleblowing reports against employers or companies.

There are a number of organisations that you can whistleblow to. We advise that you should be prepared with evidence to support the issue you are speaking out against.

If you suspect a CIMA member of misconduct, you are obliged to report this under CIMA Byelaw 11. Please see our separate section on this webpage for further information.

UK:

The UK's whistleblowing law is the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

The UK government provides guidance on whistleblowing. Should a member or student have whistleblowing concerns they can contact Law Express free (details above), quoting 'CIMA whistleblow' for specific advice about actions they should take and the law's protection.

UK charity Protect offers free expert advice via phone, email or letter on speaking up or whistleblowing. 

Other countries:

View information about organisations around the world which may be able to offer whistleblowing guidance. 

In some situations it may be appropriate to use a Speak Up or Whistleblowing hotline. The Institute of Business Ethics has created a toolkit which can guide you through the process of speaking up, and answer questions you might have at each stage. 

Anti-bribery guidance is available for CIMA students and members to better understand the implications of anti-corruption legislation.

UK:

Financial Conduct Authority

Prudential Regulation Authority

HM Revenue and Customs

National Crime Agency

Financial Reporting Council

Other countries:

For relevant agencies in your market, please contact your regional CIMA office.

If you suspect another CIMA member (or members) of misconduct then you are required to report this to the Institute under Byelaw 11 which includes:

“A Member or Registered Student shall report promptly to the Institute any facts or matters which cause him reasonably to believe that another Member or Registered Student may have been guilty of misconduct as defined in Bye-law 1 and when considering such report shall have regard to guidelines issued in this connection by the Institute".

You can find the full Charter and Byelaws here.

 If you need to make a complaint of misconduct against a CIMA member you can do this through the conduct processes. You can find out how to do this here.