IMC Australia Code of Ethics

IMC Australia Code of Ethics

  1. It is the objective of each member, as a professional management consultant, to assist his or her clients to add value to the clients enterprise; whether that enterprise takes the form of a business, a not-for-profit organisation or any element of government.
  2. A member will serve their clients with integrity, competence, objectivity, independence and professionalism.
  3. A member will only accept assignments that the member is competent to perform; and, on a client project, will only assign staff or engage colleagues with knowledge and expertise relevant to the client project.
  4. Before accepting any engagement a member will establish with the client realistic expectations of the objectives, scope, expected benefits, work plan and fee structure of the assignment.
  5. A member will agree in advance with the client on the basis for fees and expenses. A member will charge fees that are reasonable; commensurate with the services delivered, the value created and the risk or responsibility accepted.
  6. A member recognises that the clients enterprise has many stakeholders whose interests are sometimes divergent, and will seek to balance and reconcile these different interests in their guidance to the client.
  7. A members advice to the client will be delivered with independence and courage; always focussing on the long-term best interests of the enterprise as a whole, even when this guidance may lead to actions such as restructuring or retrenchments that may be painful in the short-term.
  8. A member will continually invest in professional development to keep abreast of evolving knowledge within their profession and in areas of technical expertise.
  9. A member will treat all confidential client information appropriately; will take reasonable steps to prevent access to confidential information by unauthorised people and will not take advantage of proprietary or privileged information, for use by the member or others, without the client's permission.
  10. A member will avoid conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such, and will disclose to the client immediately any circumstances or interests that they believe may influence their judgment or objectivity.
  11. A member will offer to withdraw from a consulting assignment when they believe their objectivity or integrity may be impaired.
  12. A member will represent the profession with integrity and professionalism in their relations with clients, colleagues and the general public.
  13. A member will respect the rights of consulting colleagues and consulting firms and will not use their proprietary information or methodologies without permission.
  14. A member will not accept commissions, remuneration, or other benefits from a third party in connection with any recommendations to a client without that client's prior knowledge and consent, and will disclose in advance any financial interests in goods or services that form part of such recommendations.
  15. A member will refrain from inviting an employee of an active or inactive client to consider alternative employment without prior discussion with the client.
  16. A member will not advertise their services in a deceptive manner nor misrepresent or denigrate individual consulting practitioners, consulting firms, or the consulting profession.
  17. A member will promote adherence to the Code of Ethics by all other consultants working on their behalf.
  18. A client, a member of the public or a member of the Institute may report any perceived violation of the Code of Ethics to the Institute of Management Consultants. In the event of such complaint a Disciplinary Committee will be convened to investigate and recommend appropriate actions, including but not limited to: mediation, arbitration or sanction against the member concerned.
Approved by IMC (Australia) Federal Council on 12th November 2016.