The influence of auditors’ professionalism on ethical judgementDifferences among practitioners and postgraduate students

  1. Itsaso Barrainkua 1
  2. Marcela Espinosa-Pike 1
  1. 1 Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
    info

    Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

    Lejona, España

    ROR https://ror.org/000xsnr85

Journal:
Revista de contabilidad = Spanish accounting review: [RC-SAR]

ISSN: 1138-4891

Year of publication: 2018

Volume: 21

Issue: 2

Pages: 176-187

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1016/J.RCSAR.2017.07.001 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDialnet editor

More publications in: Revista de contabilidad = Spanish accounting review: [RC-SAR]

Abstract

Antecedents Auditors’ professionalism has been criticized in recent years. Literature suggests that professionalism is decreasing due to the current audit market and the predominance of commercial goals. Objectives The main objective of this paper is to analyze auditors’ commitment to professionalism through two key professional values: public interest and independence enforcement. In addition, this study analyzes whether postgraduate students’ professional values differ from those of experienced auditors, and among auditors at different career stages. It also studies the influence of public interest commitment and independence enforcement on auditors’ ethical judgement. Methodology The research methodology comprised a survey that was distributed among auditors as well as among students enrolled in a postgraduate degree in auditing. 122 responses from Spanish auditors and 55 responses from students in a postgraduate auditing course were obtained. In order to test the hypothesis, ANOVA tests and a multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results The results of this paper reveal that students’ commitment to the public interest and independence enforcement was significantly higher than that of auditors, and that these professional values lowered as auditors gain experience. However, the findings also show that the auditors possess higher ethical judgement than students do. Further, the results reveal that these two values are predecessor of ethical judgement. Conclusion This study has practical implications for the improvement of ethical decision-making in auditing, as these results can assist with the proposal of measures that could apply to the education, recruitment, and professional development of auditors.

Bibliographic References

  • Abdolmohammadi, M.J., Read, W.J., Scarbrough, D.P., Does selection-socialization help to explain accountants’ weak ethical reasoning?. Journal of Business Ethics 42:1 (2003), 71–81.
  • Alleyne, P., Hudaib, M., Pike, R., Towards a conceptual model of whistle-blowing intentions among external auditors. The British Accounting Review 45:1 (2013), 10–23.
  • Anderson-Gough, F., Grey, C., Robson, K., In the name of the client: The service ethic in two professional services firms. Human Relations 53:9 (2000), 1151–1174.
  • Aranya, N., Pollock, J., Amernic, J., An examination of professional commitment in public accounting, Accounting. Organizations and Society 6:4 (1981), 271–280.
  • Baker, C.R., An examination of the ethical discourse of the US public accounting profession from a Foucaultian perspective. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change 10:2 (2014), 216–228.
  • Bamber, E.M., Iyer, V.M., Big 5 auditors’ professional and organizational identification: Consistency or conflict?. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 21:2 (2002), 21–38.
  • Beattie, V., Fearnley, S., Hines, T., Perceptions of factors affecting audit quality in the post-SOX UK regulatory environment. Accounting and Business Research 43:1 (2013), 56–81.
  • Bline, D.M., Duchon, D., Meixner, W.F., The measurement of organizational and professional commitment: An examination of psychometric properties of two commonly used instruments. Behavioral Research in Accounting 3 (1991), 1–12.
  • Bobek, D.D., Hageman, A.M., Radtke, R.R., The influence of roles and organizational fit on accounting professionals’ perceptions of their firms’ ethical environment. Journal of Business Ethics 126:1 (2015), 125–141.
  • Carrera, N., Gutiérrez, I., Carmona, S., Gender, the state and the audit profession: Evidence from Spain (1942–88). European Accounting Review 10:4 (2001), 803–815.
  • Carrington, T., Johansson, T., Johed, G., Öhman, P., An empirical test of the hierarchical construct of professionalism and managerialism in the accounting profession. Behavioral Research in Accounting 25:2 (2013), 1–20.
  • Clikeman, P.M., Schwartz, B.N., Lathan, M.H., The effect of the 150-hour requirement on new accountants’ professional commitment, ethical orientation, and professionalism. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 12:5 (2001), 627–645.
  • Cohen, J., Pant, L., Sharp, D., The effect of gender and academic discipline diversity on the ethical evaluations, ethical intentions and ethical orientation of potential public accounting recruits. Accounting Horizons 12:3 (1998), 250–270.
  • Cohen, J.R., Pant, L.W., Sharp, D.J., An examination of differences in ethical decision-making between Canadian business students and accounting professionals. Journal of Business Ethics 30:4 (2001), 319–336.
  • Conroy, S.J., Emerson, T.L., Pons, F., Ethical attitudes of accounting practitioners: Are rank and ethical attitudes related?. Journal of Business Ethics 91:2 (2010), 183–194.
  • Cowton, C.J., Accounting and the ethics challenge: Re-membering the professional body. Accounting and Business Research 39:3 (2009), 177–189.
  • Davenport, L., Dellaportas, S., Interpreting the public interest: A survey of professional accountants. Australian Accounting Review 19:1 (2009), 11–23.
  • Elias, R.Z., The impact of professional commitment and anticipatory socialization on accounting students’ ethical orientation. Journal of Business Ethics 68:1 (2006), 83–90.
  • Elias, R., Auditing students’ professional commitment and anticipatory socialization and their relationship to whistleblowing. Managerial Auditing Journal 23:3 (2008), 283–294.
  • Emerson, T.L., Conroy, S.J., Stanley, C.W., Ethical attitudes of accountants: Recent evidence from a practitioners’ survey. Journal of Business Ethics 71:1 (2007), 73–87.
  • Espinosa-Pike, M., El papel de la universidad en la mejora del comportamiento ético de los profesionales contables. Spanish Accounting Review 4:7 (2001), 53–74.
  • Espinosa-Pike, M., Barrainkua, I., An exploratory study of the pressures and ethical dilemmas in the audit conflict. Spanish Accounting Review 19:7 (2016), 10–20.
  • Ferguson, J., Collison, D., Power, D., Stevenson, L., Accounting education, socialisation and the ethics of business. Business Ethics: A European Review 20:1 (2011), 12–29.
  • Fogarty, T.J., Organizational socialization in accounting firms: A theoretical framework and agenda for future research. Accounting, Organizations and Society 17:2 (1992), 129–149.
  • Fogarty, T.J., Parker, L.M., Robinson, T., Where the rubber meets the road: Performance evaluation and gender in large public accounting organizations. Women in Management Review 13:8 (1998), 299–310.
  • Ford, R.C., Richardson, W.D., Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. Journal of Business Ethics 13:3 (1994), 205–221.
  • Freidson, E., Professionalism the third logic: On the practice of knowledge. 2001, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
  • Gaa, J.C., Integrity, auditor independence, and the protection of investors. Advances in Public Interest Accounting 12 (2006), 27–47.
  • Gendron, Y., Suddaby, R., Lam, H., An examination of the ethical commitment of professional accountants to auditor independence. Journal of Business Ethics 64:2 (2006), 169–193.
  • Glover, S.H., Bumpus, M.A., Sharp, G.F., Munchus, G.A., Gender differences in ethical decision making. Women in Management Review 17:5 (2002), 217–227.
  • Goetz, J.F., Morrow, P.C., McElroy, J.C., The effect of accounting firm size and member rank on professionalism. Accounting, Organizations and Society 16:2 (1991), 159–165.
  • Gonzalo Angulo, J.A., Los requisitos educativos para el acceso y la formación continuada de los auditores. Revista Galega de Economía 22:1 (2013), 249–280.
  • Hall, R.H., Professionalization and bureaucratization. American Sociological Review Vol. 33 (1968), 92–104.
  • Hanlon, G., Casino capitalism and the rise of the commercialised service class – An examination of the accountant. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 7 (1996), 339–363.
  • Helliar, C., Bebbington, J., Taking Ethics to Heart: A Discussion Document by the Research Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. 2004, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Edinburgh.
  • Holtbrügge, D., Baron, A., Friedmann, C.B., Personal attributes, organizational conditions, and ethical attitudes: A social cognitive approach. Business Ethics: A European Review 24:3 (2015), 264–281.
  • Humphrey, C., Moizer, P., Turley, S., Independence and competence? A critical questioning of auditing. Advances in Public Interest Accounting 12 (2006), 149–167.
  • Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas, Situación de la Auditoría en España – 2015. 2016 (BOICAC N.°105/March 2016).
  • International Accounting Education Standards Board, IES 4, Initial Professional Development-Professional Values, Ethics, and Attitudes (Revised). 2014 Available at: https://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/ies-4-initial-professional-development-professional-values-ethics-and-attit-0 (accessed 10.1.16).
  • International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, A Framework for Audit Quality: Key Elements that Create an Environment for Audit Quality. 2014 Available at: https://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/framework-audit-quality-key-elements-create-environment-audit-quality (accessed 20.5.14).
  • Jeffrey, C., Weatherholt, N., Lo, S., Ethical development, professional commitment, and rule observance attitudes: A study of auditors in Taiwan. The International Journal of Accounting 31:3 (1996), 365–379.
  • Jenkins, J.G., Lowe, D.J., Auditors as advocates for their clients: Perceptions of the auditor-client relationship. Journal of Applied Business Research 15:2 (2009), 73–78.
  • Jones, J., Massey, D.W., Thorne, L., Auditors’ ethical reasoning: Insights from past research and implications for the future. Journal of Accounting Literature 22 (2003), 45–103.
  • Kaplan, S.E., Whitecotton, S.M., An examination of auditors’ reporting intentions when another auditor is offered client employment. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 20:1 (2001), 45–63.
  • Kohlberg, L., Essays on moral development: Vol II. The Psychology of moral development. 1984, Harper & Row, San Francisco.
  • Krugman, S., Women in accounting: Tearing down the barriers. Accounting Today 14:15 (2000), 56–57.
  • Larson, M.S., The rise of professionalism: A sociological analysis. 1977, University of Berkeley Press, Berkeley.
  • Lord, A., DeZoort, F.T., The impact of commitment and moral reasoning on auditors’ responses to social influence pressure. Accounting, Organizations, and Society 26:3 (2001), 215–235.
  • McPhail, K., Ethics and the individual professional accountant. A literature Review. 2006, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Edinburgh.
  • Mintz, S., Whistleblowing considerations for external auditors under Dodd-Frank: A blueprint for future research. Jeffrey, C., (eds.) Research on professional responsibility and ethics in accounting, Vol. 19, 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 99–128.
  • O'Fallon, M.J., Butterfield, K.D., A review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature: 1996–2003. Journal of Business Ethics 59:4 (2005), 375–413.
  • Parker, L., An historical analysis of ethical pronouncements and debate in the Australian accounting profession. Abacus 23 (1987), 126–140.
  • Ponemon, L., Ethical reasoning and selection-socialization in accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society 17:3/4 (1992), 239–258.
  • Porter, L.W., Steers, R.M., Mowday, R.T., Boulian, P.V., Organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover among psychiatric technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology 59:5 (1974), 603–609.
  • Rest, J., Moral development: Advances in research and theory. 1986, Preager Publishers, New York.
  • Samuel, S., Covaleski, M.A., Dirsmith, M.W., On the eclipse of professionalism in accounting: An essay. Chapman, C.S., Cooper, D.J., Miller, P., (eds.) Accounting, organizations and institutions, 2009, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 367–395.
  • Scholarios, D., Lockyer, C., Johnson, H., Anticipatory socialisation: The effect of recruitment and selection experiences on career expectations. Career Development International 8:4 (2003), 182–197.
  • Shafer, W.E., Lowe, D.J., Fogarty, T.J., The effects of corporate ownership on public accountants’ professionalism and ethics. Accounting Horizons 16:2 (2002), 109–124.
  • Shafer, W.E., Simmons, R.S., Effects of organizational ethical culture on the ethical decisions of tax practitioners in mainland China. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 24:5 (2011), 647–668.
  • Shafer, W.E., Ethical climate, social responsibility, and earnings management. Journal of Business Ethics 126:1 (2015), 43–60.
  • Shaub, M.K., Braun, R.L., Call of duty: A framework for auditors’ ethical decisions. Mintz, S, (eds.) Accounting for the public interest: perspectives on accountability, professionalism and role in society, 2014, 3–25.
  • Sierra Molina, G., Santa María Pérez, M., Audit professional judgements: The auditor's individual differences. Spanish Accounting Review 5:10 (2002), 179–203.
  • Suddaby, R., Gendron, Y., Lam, H., The organizational context of professionalism in accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society 34:3 (2009), 409–427.
  • Sweeney, B., Arnold, D., Pierce, B., The impact of perceived ethical culture of the firm and demographic variables on auditors’ ethical evaluation and intention to act decisions. Journal of Business Ethics 93:4 (2010), 531–551.
  • Taylor, M.H., DeZoort, F.T., Munn, E., Thomas, M.W., A proposed framework emphasizing auditor reliability over auditor independence. Accounting Horizons 17:3 (2003), 257–266.
  • Warren, S., Parker, L., Bean counters or bright young things?: Towards the visual study of identity construction among professional accountants. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management 6:4 (2009), 205–223.
  • Wyatt, A.R., Accounting professionalism – They just don't get it. Accounting Horizons 18:1 (2004), 45–53.
Data source: Dialnet