Whom Can You Trust?

Abstract

The importance of trust continues to come to the surface in many ways. Combined with this is a greater realization that the most essential element of trust is ethics. A recent book, Stephen M.R. Covey's The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything, sets forth examples of how important trust is to business and how trust can be maintained. Covey believes that high trust in a company materially improves communication, collaboration, execution, innovation, strategy, engagement, partnering, and relationships with all stakeholders. Management accountants, more than other managers, need to be believable as well as objective, fair, and responsible in order to provide decision support information that will allow their organization to survive and prosper. Management accountants must use the four overarching Institute of Management Accountants Statement of Ethical Professional Practice and the Standard of credibility to effectively discharge their responsibilities to the many stakeholders of the organization.