Ethics and Lean Accounting Addressed by IMA Publication

The November 2005 issue of Strategic Finance, an IMA monthly publication, addresses lean accounting and a recasting of IMA ethical standards as well as strategic thinking in multinational corporations and dealing with corporate restatements. Lean accounting, based on popularized theories such as just-in-time inventory and total quality management, seeks to minimize non-value-added (NVA) activities. One ramification of tightening the belt on NVA activities is pruning of accounting paperwork. The IMA Code of Ethics has been revised to take Sarbanes-Oxley and recently developed standards of the International Federation of Accountants into account.