Whistleblowing Intentions of Accountants and Auditors:  Evidence from the Philippines and Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Accountants and auditors are entrusted to maintain high levels of integrity and independence in the practice of their profession. Whistleblowing is a critical aspect on fraud reporting disclosing financial irregularities in the governance and financial management of an institution. The study aims to provide evidence on the internal-external whistleblowing intentions among accountants and auditors in the Philippines and Indonesia, and identify what factors will influence them in reporting the violations they uncover. Methods: The samples tested are accountants/auditors from the Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) of the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) in the DKI Jakarta area and Certified Public Accountants and/or auditors from the Philippines. Quantitative analysis originating from the results of questionnaire data processing were employed in this study. Purposive sampling of sixty-four accountants/auditors of the Directorat General of Taxes in Indonesia and sixty-four practicing accountants/auditors in the Philippines were used in this study.Results: The study shows that attitude and independence commitment have a significant relationship to the internal-external whistleblowing intentions of accountants and auditors in the Philippines. On the other hand, rationalization significantly affects only the external whistleblowing intentions of the Philippine accountants/auditors. Religiosity has no significant correlation to whistleblowing intentions in the Philippines. Attitude, rationalization, and religiosity have a significant impact on the intentions of Indonesians to blow the whistle towards authorities. Independence commitment does not show a significant relationship with external whistleblowing intentions.