Personal Values, Perceived Importance Of An Ethical Issue And Ethical Decision Making Of Accounting Students

Abstract

The work of accountants is all based on principles and ethics and hence demands that members of this profession exhibit high levels of ethical behaviour. However, some recent events of unethical behaviours have been recounted, calling for more research in this area. It is believed that to change the face of the profession and win back the trust of stakeholders, a new revolution of accountants must be raised. This study, therefore, investigates the relationship between values and the relevance attached to an ethical issue, and ethical decision-making of accounting students. To achieve this aim, the quantitative research approach is employed. A scenario-based questionnaire was employed to gather data from 444 accounting students within 4 universities, while PLS-SEM was used for the analysis of data. The results revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between honesty and self-control, and ethical judgement; and a significant negative relationship between honesty and behavioural intention. Also, the results showed a positive relationship between ethical judgement and behavioural intention. It is consequently recommended that accounting educators find a fine balance between personal values, ethical judgement and ethical behaviour to enhance the ethical decision-making of accounting students and subsequently, their behaviour.