There are four main ethical responsibilities and obligations of a management accountant,confidentiality,

avoid conflicts of interest/integrity, credibility/truthfulness, and to comply with the

continuing education requirements of thirty hours per year. “The management accountant is a

strategic partner utilizing financial information to improve the quality of business

decisions”(Rights and Responsibilities of a Certified Management Accountant, 2006).

Management accountant’s responsibilities differ from a financial accountant’s responsibilities in

that a management accountant has the ability to influence a final decision

of the company. A

financial accountant primarily prepares documents for review by outside persons and entities

such as investors or the I.R.S. Therefore, a management accountant has more influence over

management than a financial accountant, and has a higher ethical standard, much like a lawyer

has an ethical duty to his client