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Effects of exposure to unethical practices on the personal attitudes of accountants in small accounting firms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2015

Soheila Mirshekary  and
Rodney Carr
Soheila Mirshekary*
Affiliation:
Deakin Graduate School of Business, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Rodney Carr
Affiliation:
Deakin Graduate School of Business, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

We investigate how exposure to unethical practices affects the personal attitude of accountants in small accounting firms towards unethical behaviours. This is an important topic for business because accountants in small accounting firms are in a position to influence the behaviour of the large number of businesses they serve. The main independent variable is a measure of exposure to a variety of different types of unethical practices. A regression involving the exposure variable onto personal attitude is carried out using data from owners/managers of small accounting firms in Australia. Findings confirm a negative relationship between the amount of exposure and personal attitude towards questionable practices: increased exposure to questionable ethical behaviour is related to an increase in the level of acceptance of unethical behaviour. While such a finding is not unexpected, it suggests that other strategies need to be pursued to encourage ethical behaviour.

Keywords

Australiaunethical practicessocial normspersonal attitudessmall accounting firms
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 98 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2015 

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