Ethical decision-making among professional accountants in Nigeria: the influence of ethical ideology, work sector, and types of professional membership

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of ethical ideological orientation (moral idealism and moral relativism), work sector and types of professional membership on the ethical decision-making (EDM) process of professional accountants in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study obtained primary data from 329 professional accountants with the aid of a structured questionnaire containing four scenarios of ethical dilemmas. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis, independent sample t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression techniques. Findings The results revealed both idealistic and relativistic moral orientation among the accountants surveyed with a higher mean score (>4.0) recorded for moral idealism. Moral idealism was found to have a positive influence, while moral relativism a negative influence on the three stages (ethical recognition, ethical judgement and ethical intention) of EDM examined. Professional accountants with idealistic orientation showed a higher disposition towards making ethical decisions in situations involving ethical dilemmas than those tending towards relativistic orientation. The results also revealed that work sector (private or public) and types of professional membership play significant roles in predicting the EDM process of professional accountants in Nigeria. Practical implications The study provides empirical evidence that could be used to support educational and legislative efforts in enhancing the moral ideological orientation of professional accountants, which will, in turn, enhance their EDM processes. The findings could be used to enhance ethics instructions and training of current and prospective professional accountants in educational settings, especially in countries such as Nigeria where there is yet to be a discrete ethics course in the curriculum for accounting undergraduate degree programmes. Professional accounting bodies in Nigeria and other developing countries could use the evidence in this study to strengthen the ethics code for professional accountants. Originality/value The study is unique in focussing on professional accountants in developing countries using Nigeria to represent developing countries with high corruption profile and weak institutions and governments and, as such, it contributes to the scarce research output on accounting ethics in developing countries.

Accountants perception of the factors influencing auditors' ethical behaviour in Nigeria

“…Ethics is the bedrock of any responsible society and the basis for meaningful and sustainable development (Oboh et al, 2020). True professionalism and societal formation are established upon sound ethical values which are the foundation for all other standards of performance (Turpen and Witmer, 1997).…”

“…In 2002, the appeal for ethics in business and accounting practices became amplified after the Enron and Andersen debacles. The outcome of the Enron and Andersen investigation only brought to bear what already was a deficiency in the very fibres of the business and professional communities (Low et al, 2008;Arfaoui et al, 2016;Oboh, 2019;Oboh et al, 2020).…”

“…Recent cases include the scandals of Toshiba in 2015 in Japan; Alberta Motor Association in 2016 in Canada; and Odebrecht in 2016 in Brazil (Rusnell, 2016;Associated Press, 2017;Inagaki, 2017;Oboh, 2018Oboh, , 2019Enwereuzor et al, 2020). By implication, the recurring global headlines of financial scandals and the roles played by accountants and auditors have brought a dent on the image of the accounting profession's nobility (Dellaportas, 2006;Bakre, 2007;Musbah et al, 2016;Oboh et al, 2020). Also, stakeholders remain surprised as regards the moral decline and unethical posture of public accountants (Wokukwu, 2015;Herbert et al, 2016;Oboh, 2019;Enwereuzor et al, 2020).…”

Factors influencing ethical judgements of accounting practitioners: some Malaysian evidence

“…A vignette-based method has been adopted in prior studies to measure ethical judgements (e.g. Hopkins and Deepa, 2018; Musbah et al , 2016; Nasution and Ostermark, 2020; Oboh, 2019; Oboh et al , 2020; Waldron and Fisher, 2017).…”

“…Research on ethics is still a fertile area, as much is yet to be unveiled regarding ethical judgements. Recent research on ethical judgement includes examining consumers behaviour (Le and Kieu, 2019; Moraes et al , 2020; Tjiptono et al , 2017), ethical judgements of public sector auditors (Ismail and Yuhanis, 2018), external auditors (Nasution and Ostermark, 2020) and accountants (Awang and Ismail, 2018; Oboh et al , 2020). While Le and Kieu (2019) reported the significance of age, income and job levels in influencing consumers' ethical behaviour, Tjiptono et al (2017) document significant difference in the ethical behaviours of consumers in Indonesia and Thailand, attributing the findings to the cultural variations in the two countries.…”