Carl Menconi Ethics Case Writing Competition

The IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) Committee on Ethics, in cooperation with IMA’s Academic Research Fellow, is proud to announce the Carl Menconi Ethics Case Writing Competition. This annual program is named in memory of Carl Menconi, who held leadership positions within IMA for many years and also served as chair of IMA’s Committee on Ethics. He also valued education and taught part time at his alma mater, Northern Illinois University.

The overall goal of this program is to develop and distribute teaching cases focused on business ethics with specific application to management accounting and finance issues. Specifically, the program’s objectives are to:

• Increase awareness of ethical issues in today’s business environment among management accounting students.
• Increase awareness about the importance of the IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice (the IMA Statement) and other IMA ethics initiatives.
• Provide management accounting educators the opportunity to synthesize ethical situations and help students better understand ethical situations through additional teaching material.
• Provide a publishing opportunity for the winning case author(s).

The winning case will be selected by IMA’s Committee on Ethics and featured in Strategic Finance. The case author (or authors) will each receive a free registration to the IMA 2025 Accounting & Finance Conference (IMA25), to be held June 22-25, 2025, at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. Additionally, the winning case will win a $500 cash prize.

General Submission Guidelines
Cases must:
• Utilize the IMA Statement as an integral guidance tool/reference in both the case and the teaching notes.
• Be suitable for either graduate or undergraduate classroom use and/or IMA chapter continuing education programs.
• Be suitable for feature publication in Strategic Finance magazine.
• Be submitted in English.
• Be original and not have been previously published.

Format Guidelines
Cases should be submitted in three files:

1. Cover Page – Include the case title, contact information for all contributing authors (including name, title, academic affiliation, mailing address, phone, fax, e-mail, and IMA membership status). If there is more than one author, please designate a primary contact author. Do not give any author-identifying information except on the cover sheet as the cases are blind reviewed.

2. Case Study – The case, including a description of the ethical situation and discussion questions, should be approximately five to six pages in length. Cases must utilize the IMA Statement, as noted above. The case length should follow the editorial guidelines for Strategic Finance articles (2,500 to 3,000 words).

3. Teaching Note – Cases must include an accompanying Teaching Note. The Teaching Note must reference the IMA Statement and should follow the guidelines provided on IMA’s Educational Case Journal website.

To submit an application for this competition, please click here. 

Deadline for Submissions: 

Submissions are due by January 20, 2025.