Does Ethics Get Enough Attention in Accounting Education - Research Proposal Example

Accounting Education: Does Ethics get Enough Attention Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date s Background Overview Accounting refers to a body and practice of knowledge that is concerned with systematic recording, reporting and analysis of financial transactions of a firm (Greenfield, 2004). Accountants are expected to adhere to certain set of rules and regulations during the practice of their profession. Through accounting practice, a firm is able to carry out the analysis of its financial performance (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). Accounting as a discipline is pursued at educational levels such as high schools, colleges and universities. Accounting ethics refers to the study of moral values and judgments that are applied in accounting profession (Sen, 1993). The concept of ethics in accounting was first introduced by Luca Pacioli in 15th century. This concept was later build on by government groups, independent companies and professional organizations. Currently, accounting ethics are taught in accounting courses at institutions of higher learning in addition to training of accountants and auditors at company level (Sen, 1993). Many investors rely on financial statements of companies which are prepared by accountants to make investment decisions (Misiewicz, 2007). For the financial statements to a true reflection of the company in question, the accountants preparing the statements and auditors verifying the information ought to uphold high moral values and judgments (Rushton, 2002). Such values allow them to present a fair view of the firm. Thus ethics knowledge can enable accountants and auditors to overcome dilemmas that they may encounter during disclosure of financial performance of the firm. Such knowledge can enable them to make the right choice that could be helpful to investors but not the company they work for. Developments in accounting ethics Accounting dates back to about 7500 B.C when Mesopotamians started using clay tokens to represent goods. Around 4000 B.C Sumerians began placing the tokens in sealed envelops and different shapes represented different goods (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). At around 3000 B.C abacus was developed by Chinese and was used as a tool for counting and calculating. Double entry accounting was introduced by a Franciscan monk named Luca Pacioli in 1494 and as such he is often referred to as the father of accounting. He is also credited for introducing ethics in accounting (Rushton, 2002). Accounting as a profession developed during late 18th and early 19th century. Following the 1930s global depression demands were rife for standardization of accounting practices and guidelines for streamlining accounting profession (Greenfield, 2004). Since then various codes of conduct and guidelines for accounting profession have emerged in different countries. Accounting ethics education It has been widely accepted that ethics and professional conduct are crucial part in accounting profession that ensures public trust in business practice and financial reporting (Misiewicz, 2007). Accounting practitioners and academicians have for long recognized the importance of ethics education in accounting. Many studies have emphasized the need for extensive coverage of ethics in accounting education (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). However, many accounting curricula of different nations have not incorporated ethics courses in the training of their accounting professions. However, ethics is part of professional examination requirement in most institutions of higher learning in most countries (Sen, 1993). For instance, in USA questions about professional responsibilities, including ethics and independence, comprise 16 to 20 percent of the accounting profession examination. Students are expected to have better understanding of ethics and independence rules of AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, Department of Labour, Government Accountability Office, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Securities and Exchange Commission for them to handle ethics section in USA accounting exam. Even countries which incorporate ethics in their curriculum, the subject are skimpily covered (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). Evidence exists to support the fact that accounting ethics can be effectively taught in classroom both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. For effective teaching of ethics, a mix of theory and discussion of topical issues is needed (Rushton, 2002). Surveys have indicated that the main goals of accounting ethics education currently being sort are enhancement of the clarity of thought in how students explain moral judgments or decisions (Misiewicz, 2007). However, studies have indicated that the real goals which need to be addressed by accounting ethics education should include the following (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). First, the curriculum should enable the student to relate accounting education to moral issues (Greenfield, 2004). Second, the curriculum should enable students to recognize accounting issues that have ethical implication on their profession (Sen, 1993). Third, the curriculum ought to help the student develop a sense of moral obligation or responsibility. Furthermore, the curriculum need enable the student to learn to deal with uncertainties found in accounting profession (Rushton, 2002). The curriculum moreover needs to set the stage for a change in ethical behaviour of the student as a future accounting professional. Finally, an effective accounting ethics education ought to help the student to appreciate and understand the history and composition of all aspects of accounting ethics and their relationship to the general field of ethics. Ethical concerns and accounting ethics education In recent times, major financial scandals have hit companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Andersen (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This has raised ethical concerns as to what happened to ethics in accounting. Questions have also been raised about accounting education. The public is questioning as to whether enough accounting ethics is being taught in learning institutions and whether it can be taught (Sen, 1993). Based on the definition of professionalism, that states that a profession requires certain attributes such as expertise, public interest, monopoly and self-regulation, the recent scandals raises questions as to whether accountants are embracing accounting professionalism (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). The knowledge or expertise part of professionalism is acquired via education. It allows one to make professional judgments and equips one with technical skills. The laws, standards and codes of ethics can not be entirely be relied upon for professional judgment. Knowledge is considered to be power and hence the society grants professionals a monopoly to practice the expertise (Sen, 1993). The society expects professionals to distinguish between bad and good and be guided by values and morals instilled in them to make such decisions (Misiewicz, 2007). Thus, professionals are expected to self regulate themselves. Legislations are often made stricter when the society deems that professionals are not using the power granted to them to self regulate themselves (Rushton, 2002). Thus students of accounting are expected to understand their unique role as professionals and embrace their responsibility to act in the best interest of the public (Greenfield, 2004). This implies that accounting curricula need to reflect the values and morals expected of the students in their future roles as accounting professionals (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). In years preceding 2005 after the Enron scandal and other financial scandals around the globe, various bodies required the public to place greater emphasis on accounting ethics. The dependency of accounting on ethics is overwhelming. However, education systems have not integrated ethics as a required course in the training of accountants. It has been argued that ethics is a field of learning and not a personality trait (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). However, many accounting professionals have also been engaged in a debate on whether or not accounting ethics can be taught in class. Proponents say that the subject ought to be taught while opponents argue that ethics cannot be taught because someone is either ethical or not (Sen, 1993). Following the scandals in Enron scandal and the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the American National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) recommended that institutions ought to increase the hours allocated to ethics education (Sen, 1993). However, ethics education has been criticized for being discussed at philosophical levels instead of exposing accounting students to ethics at a practical business level (Melton, 2008). It has been suggested that students ought to be taught to think about ethical issues and how they will handle the issues at individual level in real world dilemmas (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). Accounting ethics education has also been criticized for being held as an appendix of the accounting curricula rather than being incorporated throughout the curriculum. Even though it has been agreed that some elements of ethics need to be integrated in accounting curriculum few institutions are willing to do so. Research motivation There is an increasing evidence to show that accounting ethics education is essential for future ethical professionalism of students (Rushton, 2002). Various goals set for teaching ethics to accounting students have been cited to be an indication of a better accounting curriculum. In addition, it has been suggested that accounting ethics courses need to be required courses and be integrated in the whole accounting curriculum for it to effective (Sen, 1993). It is thus important to find out whether these views have been incorporated in the Australian accounting education (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This will help in providing the basis of strengthening the training of future accounting professions (Greenfield, 2004). It is important to know whether accounting education is enough in Australia to help in elucidating whether the education system is to blame or the professionals themselves for the unethical conducts that have been witnessed throughout the globe in recent time (Misiewicz, 2007). The findings will be important to both accounting students, educators and practitioners in formulation of policies that can help curb the widespread unethical conduct (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This study is looking at the problem because studies have indicated that accounting as a profession depends on ethics and therefore since some school of thought have argued that ethics can be taught it is essential to find out whether or not what is being is enough to enable students to act ethically in their future practice (Melton, 2008). Research problem The purpose of this study is to find out whether accounting ethics get enough attention in accounting education (Melton, 2008). Accounting education have for long been accused of taking no serious concern over ethics education in spite rich evidence from empirical studies showing how important ethics is in accounting profession. In fact it has been pointed out that accounting profession is dependent on ethics (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). It has been pointed out that effective accounting ethics education depends on the goals of teaching it and comprehensive integration of ethics throughout the accounting curriculum and not just making ethics to be an appendix of accounting education (Sen, 1993). Thus data collection, analyses and interpretation in this study will be guided by the goals of teaching ethics in accounting profession and the level of ethics integration. The study will entail two groups of participants: accounting students and accounting educators in universities and accounting colleges in Australia. The study will be seeking to find out the perceptions and insights of educators and accounting students on the issue of ethics (Bayou, Reinstein and Williams, 2011). This will inform the study on whether the accounting educators and accounting students value ethics as a taught course toward moulding moral and ethically upright accounting professionals (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). The study will also be seeking to unveil the goals pursued when teaching and learning accounting ethics. From this we will be able to deduce the goals the educators pursue when teaching ethics to accounting students (Rushton, 2002). We will also be able to deduce from students what they expect their ethics education to help them attain in their accounting professional growth (Sen, 1993). The study will also be seeking to find out how much time is allocated to the ethics accounting education throughout the curriculum. This will help to inform the study the level of integration of accounting ethics in accounting education as a whole (Greenfield, 2004). It has been heralded that teaching ethics requires both discussion about current practical ethical issues and philosophical ethics teaching. Thus the study will be seeking to find out from the accounting educators and students the mode of teaching and learning respectively used to address ethical issues in accounting (Sen, 1993). This will inform the study as to whether the correct method is being used to impart ethics knowledge to the upcoming accounting professionals (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). By knowing the method used we will be able to know whether the students are getting enough knowledge about ethics in their educations. As mentioned earlier unsatisfactory accounting ethics education in higher learning institutions has been partly blamed for the recent financial scandals seen worldwide (Bayou, Reinstein and Williams, 2011). By elucidating the level of integration and goals set out in the curriculum for teaching ethics in accounting, this will inform education policy on accounting teaching in Australia and help curb the problem. Research objectives Main objective To find out whether accounting ethics is getting enough attention in institutions of higher learning in Australia (Melton, 2008). Thus the study will be seeking to find out the time allocated, the goals pursued and the level of integration of ethics in accounting education and the mode used to teach the subject (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This will inform the study on whether these issues are being undertaken in accordance to the recommended criteria or standards (Sen, 1993). Thus the analysis of the data collected will inform the study whether enough attention is being granted to educating accounting students the knowledge of ethics they do require for their future practice (Rushton, 2002). Specific objectives 1. To find out the perceptions and insights of Australian accounting educators and accounting students in institutions of higher learning about accounting ethics education 2. To find out the goals pursued in the teaching and learning of accounting ethics in the Australian accounting education in higher learning institutions 3. To find out the level of integration of accounting ethics education in the Australian accounting education in higher learning institutions 4. To find out the mode of teaching and learning used to teach and learn account ethics in Australian institutions of higher learning Thus the study intents to provide empirical data on the level of attention granted to the learning and educating accounting students on matters related to accounting ethics in Australia. Research questions 1. Is accounting ethics getting enough attention in institutions of higher learning in Australia? 2. What are the perceptions and insights of Australian accounting educators and accounting students in institutions of higher learning about accounting ethics education? 3. What kind of goals are pursued in the teaching and learning of accounting ethics in the Australian accounting education in higher learning institutions? 4. What is the level of integration of accounting ethics education in the Australian accounting education in higher learning institutions? 5. What is the mode of teaching and learning used to teach and learn account ethics in Australian institutions of higher learning? Research hypothesis H1. Accounting ethics is not getting enough attention in institutions of higher learning in Australia. H2. Accounting educators and students in Australian institutions of higher learning perceive ethics education as not a core subject that will impact on the students’ future profession. H3. The teaching and learning goal pursued by accounting educators and learners in Australian institutions of higher learning is to enhance the clarity of thought in how students explain moral judgments or decisions H4. Accounting ethics education is not integrated comprehensively in the accounting curricula but is rather an appendix of accounting education in the Australian higher learning institutions H5. Lecture mode is the mode of teaching and learning used to teach and learn account ethics in Australian institutions of higher learning Research methodology Research approach This research will use quantitative research approach. Quantitative research is often associated with the positivist paradigm (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). The positivist paradigm is closely related to objectivism and adopts the philosophical stance of the natural scientist in which the social world exists externally and its properties should be measured using objective methods, rather than being inferred subjectively through reflection or sensations (Sen, 1993). Proponents of this position advocate that the researcher will not be affected by his own beliefs and values (Bayou, Reinstein and Williams, 2011). It is based on the assumption that the researcher is independent of and unaffected by the subject of the research (Rushton, 2002). Positivism emphasizes highly structured methodology to facilitate replication and quantifiable analysis that can be subjected to statistical analysis as the end result of such research can be Law like generalizations (Greenfield, 2004). Thus quantitative research will be based on positivist paradigm (Greenfield, 2004). Quantitative approach entails collection of data and its conversion into numerical form to allow statistical calculations to be carried out from which conclusions are deducted (Sen, 1993). This method used to collect data impartially by using structured procedures and involves using large amounts of samples. This method has a disadvantage of beginning with a theoretical framework and has little diversion from this framework as a result (Bayou, Reinstein and Williams, 2011). Quantitative research does not allow any new concepts to be discovered during the research. The quantitative method that will be employed is a survey. Research procedure This study will employ descriptive procedure. Descriptive research involves investigation of human experience through surveys, case studies and ethnographies with the aim of ordering experience and formulating theory (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This study use surveys to collect data. Survey involves collection of large amounts of data from the population which is sizeable by use of questionnaires administered to the sample population. Surveys provide information that suggests possible reasons for particular relationships between variables and to produce models of these relationships (Sen, 1993). Survey strategy generates findings which are representative of the whole population at a lower cost as compared to collecting the data for the whole population. However, the data collected is unlikely to be as wide ranging as those collected using other research strategies (McPhail and Walters, 2010). This is because there is a limitation in the number of questions a questionnaire can contain, and richness of the data to be collected is dependent on the goodwill of the respondents (Bayou, Reinstein and Williams, 2011). In spite the shortcoming, this research will employ a survey strategy. A self- completion survey method involving the use of questionnaires will be used to collect data. The descriptive will first involve identification of key issues and concepts related to accounting ethics education and will be incorporated into the structure of research with a sensitivity of maintaining the Australian world view (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). The inputs from this will be used to draft the survey instrument and tested on selected segment of the study population. A pilot survey data obtained will be analysed and compared on variables of interest will be carried out based on survey responses. The results obtained will help in revising the questionnaires in order to best capture the information being sort (Sen, 1993). This will be followed by distribution of questionnaires to study participants in various institutions of higher learning providing accounting education within Australia. Once the questionnaires are returned, data analysis and tabulation will be carried out. The analysed data will be used to develop a report on the results via interpretation and discussion of the results. Study population A sample of any quantitative research should be a representation of the whole population. The sampling of the respondents will use a convenience and purposive sampling for educators and convenience and purposive sampling followed by stratified sampling (McPhail and Walters, 2010). Convenience sampling means that data will be collected where the researcher will be able to access information more easily (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). Purposive sampling implies that the researcher will be seeking for accounting educators and accounting students alone and not any other educators or students. This is because the people of interest to this study are accounting educators and accounting students. For the case of students, stratified sampling will also be employed in order to allow well balanced student participation from different years of study. Thus the students will be divided into homogeneous subgroups based on the year of study. This will allow stratification to be mutually exclusive in that a student will only be allowed in a single stratum. Random sampling will be applied within each stratum in order to improve representativeness of the sample hence reducing sampling error. The study targets 500 accounting educators and 2000 students from various universities and colleges which offer accounting courses in Australia. This approach will be used because of easier accessibility of accounting educators and students in institutions which offer accounting education Australia. Data collection Questionnaires as a quantitative data collection method will be employed to collect data. The questionnaire will be divided into two sections. The first section will deal with the perception, goals of teaching or learning accounting ethics, the level of integration of accounting ethics in accounting education and mode of teaching and learning accounting ethics (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This will help to elucidate whether accounting ethics education is receiving enough attention (Rushton, 2002). The second section will provide respondents profiles such as gender, race, religion, affiliations, qualifications and years of work experience for educators and year of study for the students (Sen, 1993). Ordinal scales will be used to measure respondents’ perception, goals of teaching or learning accounting ethics, the level of integration of accounting ethics in accounting education and mode of teaching and learning accounting ethics. The five point and seven point Likert scales will be employed in this case. Data analysis Data obtained will be analysed in quantitatively in three stages. These will include data preparation, data description and testing hypotheses (Sen, 1993). During data preparation logging in the data, entering the data into the computer, data transformation and development and documentation of a database will be undertaken to integrate the various measures (Aulisio, 1999). Description of data will entail will employ descriptive data analysis such Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to provide description of basic features of the data in the study. This will be used to provide summaries about the measures and samples (McPhail and Walters, 2010). Testing of hypothesis will involve inferential statistics. Research ethics This research will observe and adhere to the ethical standards and issues with regard to: voluntary nature of participation and the right to withdraw by individual employees from the process. The research shall maintain the confidentiality of data provided by individuals or identifiable participants and their anonymity (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). Data collected and information will be exclusively used for the purpose of this academic work. A consent form will be send together with the questionnaires to both accounting educators and students. The participants will be expected to sign the consent form prior to filling the questionnaires and both are send back (Rushton, 2002). To ensure anonymity and confidentiality of data to be obtained will go directly to the database. Thus ethical issues will be adequately covered in the research (McPhail and Walters, 2010). The study will seek approval of the study in different colleges and universities from college administrators prior to commissioning the study. Research significance In spite accounting ethics being linked to the success of accounting professionals, no empirical study has ever been carried out that provides data on whether the accounting ethics education is receiving the attention it deserves (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). This study will be able to fill this gap especially in the context of Australian accounting education. Apart from filling the gap, the study will be able to deduce a relationship between the level of attention and what has been hypothesized that insufficient ethical education is related to recent financial scandals that rocked the world all over (Sen, 1993). If the study finds out that there is insufficient attention then this will be a wake up call for policy makers and curriculum developers to address the recommendations from this study (Rushton, 2002). The study will also be advantageous to the educators in learning the mode that need to be adopted in education accounting students about the accounting ethics (Benson, 1989). The students will also benefit from the study since the results of the study will enable them advocate for the recommended mode of study and be well prepared for their future careers as accounting professionals (Chieh-Yu and Yi-Hui, 2008). To the rest of the society the recommendation of the study will be beneficial in the long run if the recommendation of the study are taken into consideration and implemented in the teaching and learning of accounting ethics. This is because the society will have graduates who are ethical in their accounting profession and who will be able to reduce the kind of scandals similar to recent financial scandals that have been witnessed all over the world. Time frame and outline of thesis Activity/Time Oct. 2011 Nov. 2011 Dec. 2011 January, 2012 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 W1 W2 W3 W4 Read through the literature review x x Finish writing the literature & methodology x x Approve last version of questionnaire from the supervisor and prepare to travel to conduct it. x Conduct pilot study x Analyse pilot study data and revise the questionnaire x Distribute questionnaire in the colleges and universities x x Collect questionnaire x Analyse data x x Prepare theses report x x Submit theses x Defend theses x Reference Aulisio, M. 1999. Ethics consultations: Is it enough to mean well? HEC Forum, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 208-217 Bayou, M., Reinstein, A., and Williams, P. 2011. To tell the truth: A discussion of issues concerning truth and ethics in accounting. Accounting, Organizations and Society, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 109-124 Benson, G. 1989. Codes of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 305-319 Chieh-Yu, L., and Yi-Hui, Y. 2008. An examination of cultural differences in ethical decision making using the multidimensional ethics scale. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, vol. 36, no. 9, pp. 1213-1222 Greenfield, W. 2004. Attention to people and principles is key to corporate governance and ethics. Employment Relations Today, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 1-10 McPhail, K., and Walters, D. 2010. Accounting and Business Ethics: An Introduction. The Accounting Review, vol. 85, no. 5, Melton, M. 2008. Do accounting academics have the expertise to teach a discipline-specific ethics course?: a research assessment approach, in Cynthia Jeffrey (ed.) Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting (Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting, Volume 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.155-177 Misiewicz, K. 2007. The Normative Impact of CPA Firms, Professional Organizations, and State Boards on Accounting Ethics Education. Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 15-21 Rushton, K. 2002. Business ethics: a sustainable approach. Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 137-139 Sen, A. 1993. Does business ethics make economic sense? Business Ethics Quarterly, vol. 3, no. 1, Read More