An empirical examination of ethical decision making by corporate accountants in Taiwan

The recent accounting scandals, characterised by the Enron affair, have not been confined to the U.S.A., but have been a worldwide phenomenon, embracing Taiwan. Most of them have involved dysfunctional behaviour incorporating earnings management. The factors which encourage earnings management decisions and the subsequent outcomes provide the motivation for this study. The study examines accountants’ earnings management behaviour in quoted firms in Taiwan, and addresses a primary issue: what are the factors which affect accountants’ ethical decision making in an earnings management context? The following subsidiary research questions were examined. (1) Does a firm’s ethical work climate affect earnings management decision making? (2) Do individual characteristics affect earnings management decision making? (3) Does moral intensity of ethical issue affect earnings management decision making?

Grantor dc:publisher

Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Lin, Eng-Lung

• Corporations
• Accounting
• Moral and ethical aspects
• Taiwan

Repository record dc:identifier

https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/364

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-1364