Do Building Up of Values Matter? An Analysis of Ethical Values of Accounting Professionals and Unethical Reporting Practices in Accounting

Accounting scandals have shaken the confidence of the investor in companies. A large number of people lost their money in these scandals. All of the scandals were attributed to false, misleading, or untruthful accounting. This undermines the role of accounting professionals who did not report material manipulations in the financial results of the company. The study attempted to find an association between ethical values of accounting professionals and their choices in ethical dilemmas in their profession. Correlation scores in this study revealed that there is a statistically significant low degree of positive correlation between value assessment ratings and ethical dilemmas in scenarios. Similarly, the correlation coefficients computed between scenario ratings and formal ethics education indicates that the latter would be important in preventing the instances of unethical reporting. Ethical value score of professionals were found to be more explanatory than formal ethical education. The study strongly recommends building up of rigorous ethical and fiduciary responsibility in the financial sector through various means. The auditors must be trained to become responsible, independent, and judicious while conducting audits. Professional bodies should encourage compliance with ethical reporting practices in accounting by both the carrot and stick approach.