Ethical Dilemma on Accountant 5th International Scholars Conference Asia-Pacific International University, Thailand October 30th 2017

Background Ethical attitudes – The fall of Enron – Low ethics possessed by individuals (Aluchna and Mikolajczyk, 2013) Business School – Students’ moral (Knotts et al, 2000; Cohen et al, 2001) Factors affecting the individuals’ perspectives and decision making process (Eweje & Brunton, 2010) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Background Internal perspectives – gender, age, work experience, length of study, course, birthplace (Aluchna & Mikolajczyk, 2013)  Preliminary evidence Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Research Gap There is no strong empirical evidence to draw conclusions Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Research Objective Re-examine the internal factors of individuals in making decisions when they are faced with ethical dilemmas Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Hypothesis Development Betz et al. (1989), 2 alternatives approaches: Gender socialization approach & Structural approach H1: Individual gender differences affect decisions when they are faced with ethical dilemmas H1a: Women experienced ethical dilemmas more often than men Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Hypothesis Development Kohberg’s moral development theory H2 Individuals age differences affects decisions in the conditions of ethical dilemma H2a: Individuals with older age experienced an ethical dilemma more often than the younger one Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Hypothesis Development Kohberg’s Moral Development Theory H3 The level of education affects decisions making in the conditions of ethical dilemmas H3a Graduate students show a dilemma of ethics more often than the undergraduate students Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Research Method Sample: 106 Accounting Students from State University of Yogyakarta and University of Gadjah Mada Research Instrument: Modified questionnaire from Aluchna & Mikolajczyk (2013) and Eweje & Brunon (2010). Statistical Test: Non-parametric Test (Chi-Square Test) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Descriptive Categories Total Percentage 17-20 38 36,54% 21-37 66 63,46% 104 100% Undergraduate 17 50% Post-Graduate 34 Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Results H1 and H1a were supported H2 and H2a were not supported Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Results Ethical Dilemma Pearson Chi-Square Asymp. Sig Question 1 .002 .013 Question 3 Question 4 .000 Question 5 .371 Question 6 .553 Question 7 .885 Question 8 Question 9 .244 Question 10 .569 Question 11 .566 Question 12 .714 Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Discussion Compared to men, women are more often experience ethical dilemmas. Women tend to consider a lot of aspects in making decisions  Support the previous research by Aluchna and Mikolajczyk (2013), Eweje and Brunon (2010), Keller et al (2007), Radtke (2010) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Discussion The maturity of a person is not determined from the age, but from experience and learning by individuals  Provides support for Eweje and Brunon (2010) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Discussion Individuals have many considerations that are not based on the amount of knowledge they get at the time of education, but on the practice and other internal factors  Support the previous study by Eweje and Brunon (2010) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Kohlberg Moral Development The moral development of an individual do not depend on age. Older individuals moral development was not better than younger individuals. Age is positively associated with level education. Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Implications Practical Plant ethical education at early age so that the moral development of individual will reach the third stage. Institutions can provide ethics subjects Moral development test for individuals (Human Resource Department) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Implications Theoritical Adds the literature that deals with business ethics Strengthen the external validity Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Limitations This study is limited to several internal factor only (age, gender, level of education) Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

Further research Other internal factors Experimental method Professional Accountant sample Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle

THANK YOU Ethical Dilemma On Accountant 5th International Scholar Conference Conducting Research with Passion, Purpose and Principle