An Examination of Factors Related to Attitudes Towards Business Ethics Amongst Accounting Students at a United States Public University

Abstract

Professional ethics are fundamental values for the accounting profession. These values have received increased attention in the last two decades as a result to numerous accounting scandals dating back to the early 2000’s. By understanding about factors that may influence attitudes towards business ethics, practitioners and educators can effectively integrate ethics training and education into the business world and classrooms, respectively. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine work experience and other demographics that could affect attitudes towards business ethics (ATBE) of accounting students at a Northeastern public university in the United States. A survey questionnaire was conducted to assess ATBE, as well as significant differences in business philosophies using various statistical techniques to explore for significant differences among groups of accounting students who were grouped according to their span of work experience and other factors. Younger students, and students with less work experience were found to be more aligned with egoism theory than older students, and students with more work experience.