Effects of Materiality, Risk, and Ethical Perceptions on Fraudulent Reporting by Financial Executives

This paper examines fraudulent financial reporting within the context of Jones' (1991) ethical decision making model. It was hypothesized that quantitative materiality would influence judgments of the ethical acceptability of fraud, and that both materiality and financial risk would affect the likelihood of committing fraud. The results, based on a study of CPAs employed as senior executives, provide partial support for the hypotheses. Contrary to expectations, quantitative materiality did not influence ethical judgments. ANCOVA results based on participants' estimates of the likelihood that a "typical CPA" would manipulate reported results indicated that both materiality and risk significantly influenced the likelihood of fraud, but that the perceived morality of the action did not. In contrast, results based on participants' self-reported behavior indicated that materiality and the perceived morality of the action would influence the likelihood of fraud, but that financial risk would not. Regardless of the measure used for the likelihood of fraud, the results indicate that financial executives continue to be influenced by quantitative materiality when misstatements are clearly material on qualitative grounds.     

我国注册会计师法律责任产生的原因分析

探析注册会计师法律责任难于落实的原因,从表因分析,主要来自于被审计单位的会计责任、注册会计师自身的审计责任、会计师事务所方面的责任、社会公众的过度期望以及来自同行业竞争的压力。但从根源分析,我国就注册会计师法律责任的规定并不完善,让有心之人有机可乘;审计制度自身也存在一定的问题,仅把责任归咎于在这个制度上运作的组织或人其实有些片面;我国市场经济秩序存在诸多不公平,也是滋生责任问题的一大可能。     

Corporate Social Responsibility: A Comparative Analysis of Perceptions of Practicing Accountants and Accounting Students

The results of a survey of 272 practicing accountants and 374 accounting students enrolled in six universities are analyzed. Differences and similarities between the two groups with regard to their attitudes toward corporate social responsibility are examined. The results indicate that the students exhibit greater concern about the ethical and discretionary components of corporate responsibility and a weaker orientation toward economic performance. No significant differences between the two groups were observed with respect to the legal dimension of corporate social responsibility. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed. Nabil Ibrahim is the Grover Maxwell Professor of Business Administration at Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and Applied Statistics. Dr.Ibrahim’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Health Care Management Review, the Journal of Applied Business Research, as well as many other journals and proceedings. John Angelidis is Professor and Chair, Department of Management, St. John’s University, New York, NY. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and International Business. Dr. Angelidis has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business Review, the International Journal of Commerce and Management as well as many other journals and proceedings. Donald P. Howard is an Associate Professor of Management at Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship. His articles have appeared in a number of journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Applied Case Research, and Health Care Management Review, as well as many proceedings.     

对我国个人所得税改革的几点想法

随着我国市场经济的快速发展,国民收入明显提高,个人所得税存在着分类所得税制设计不合理,费用扣除标准过低、课税范围狭窄、税率结构复杂等弊端。应采取实行混合所得税税制模式、健全费用扣除制度、拓宽税基、简化税制结构等措施,以实现“调节收入分配,体现社会公平”的立法原则。     

The Effect of Country and Culture on Perceptions of Appropriate Ethical Actions Prescribed by Codes of Conduct: A Western European Perspective among Accountants

Recognizing the growing interdependence of the European Union and the importance of codes of conduct in companies’ operations, this research examines the effect of a country’s culture on the implementation of a code of conduct in a European context. We examine whether the perceptions of an activity’s ethicality relates to elements found in company codes of conduct vary by country or according to Hofstede’s (1980, Culture’s Consequences (Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA)) cultural constructs of: Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity/Femininity, Individualism, and Power Distance. The 294 individuals, who participated in our study, were from 8 Western European countries. Their responses to our 13 scenarios indicate that differences in the perceptions of ethicality associate primarily with the participants’ country as opposed to their employer (i.e., accounting firm), employment level, or gender. The evidence also indicates that these country differences associate with Hofstede constructs of Individualism and Masculinity.     

从法务会计视角看商业贿赂形成原因及治理对策

社会进步往往伴随着经济的发展,越来越多的市场机会产生了各种各样的经济交易行为,作为交易的主体,无论是买方还是卖方,或者是拥有公权力的相关方,都存在一个共同点——对利益的追求,几方之间为了实现各自的利益,加上法律体系的滞后性或者单位组织的内部监督管理不到位,于是出现了商业贿赂。商业贿赂的不断涌现,一是损害国家或者单位组织利益;二是严重破坏市场经济秩序;三是滋生大量的腐败。本文作者从事科研院所公司制企业财务管理和企业法人治理方面的工作,分管财务和法律工作,学习接触到法务会计这一概念,对商业贿赂的形成及其治理有一定关注,文章拟从法务会计的角度,去分析我国商业贿赂形成的原因和带来的危害,商业贿赂证据的特点、取证方法及其运用,遏制商业贿赂的建议和对策。     

Unethical and Fraudulent Financial Reporting: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior

This research applies the theory of planned behavior to corporate managers’ decision making as it relates to fraudulent financial reporting. Specifically, we conducted two studies to examine the effects of attitude, subjective norm and perceived control on managers’ decisions to violate generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in order to meet an earnings target and receive an annual bonus. The results suggest that the theory of planned behavior predicts whether managers’ decisions are ethical or unethical. These findings are relevant to corporate leaders who seek to improve ethical work climates of organizations and to many regulators, accountants, corporate governance officials and investors.     

Accountants and Small Firm Development: Filling the Expectation Gap

As a supplier of rzecessaty expertise, the professional accountantis in a potentially strong position to influence the small business.Previous research indicates, howevec that the injluence of theaccountant on the performance of the smallfirm is limited. Thispaper examines the relationship between small firms and theaccountancy profession in the North East of international. It is basedon two surveys of 31 small businesses and 33 accountancypractices. It reveals a mismatch in the expectations of the twogroups- and argues that if the accountancy profession is to fulfilits potential in assisting small firms develop and improve theirmanagement capability, changes are required in the wayaccountancy services are marketed and provided.     

Multinational Tax Avoidance: Virtue Ethics and the Role of Accountants

The techniques that some large multinational corporations use to reduce their tax liability have come under increasing public scrutiny in recent years, alongside governmental investigations and international commitments aimed at curbing opportunities for tax avoidance. Although discussion of tax avoidance activities, and their regulatory responses, is often conducted with reference to moral concepts (such as ‘fairness’), philosophical analysis of the ethics of multinational tax avoidance remains limited. In particular, the virtue ethics tradition that emphasises the agent (and his/her character) and the performance of specific roles has not been considered in detail. This paper examines how the contemporary virtue ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre can be applied to the issue of multinational tax avoidance, and considers the role that accountants play in these activities. It argues, firstly, that MacIntyre’s approach provides a more useful philosophical analysis of the issue (when compared to utilitarian and deontological approaches for example) and, secondly, that the main parties involved (MNC accountants and regulators) are likely to agree with the main tenets of this approach. The paper also contributes by reconceptualising, using MacIntyre’s scheme, the issue of tax avoidance in relation to Donald Cressey’s ‘fraud triangle’.     

The Impact of Fraudulent False Information on Equity Values

There are two types of stock price manipulation examined in the theoretical literature: (1) insider trading, which involves private information that is true and (2) the public spreading of fraudulent false information. While there is a large empirical literature on insider trading, this is the first empirical article to examine the impact of false, fraudulent public information on stock prices and trading volume. We find that such false information, even after being denied by a credible source such as the SEC, generates both abnormal returns and abnormal trading volume. We also find that the effects of the false information on security returns and volume can be persistent for at least 2 weeks. In addition, we show that perpetrators of false news attacks can make potentially large profits from such market manipulations.     

我国三者收入分配格局的变化及原因分析

改革开放以来,我国政府、企业和居民三大利益主体之间的收入分配格局发生了明显变化.及时反映和分析这些变化,对在新形势下规范和妥善处理三者及其内部分配关系,有效地促进社会稳定和经济发展,有着极其重要的现实意义.     

Perceptions of Organizational Ethicality: Do Inflated Perceptions of Self Lead to Inflated Perceptions of the Organization?

Scholars have suggested that the tendency for an individual to perceive him- or herself as more ethical than others might influence the individual's perceptions of his or her organization's ethics. The purpose of this study is to consider if and/or when such a relationship exists. A thorough consideration of the nature of perceptions of relative ethicality suggests that a positive self-bias would negatively influence perceptions of organizational ethicality. The results of an empirical study involving working managers and employees of a hospital support that argument. Furthermore, the results indicate that organizational identification, perceived organizational cohesion, and an individual's insulation also influence individual perceptions of relative organizational ethicality. The findings illuminate this particular phenomenon and further our understanding of the relationship between the individual and the organization, more generally.     

道德还是规则:美国财务欺诈的经济学释义

本文以一批世界著名大公司和会计师事务所陷入假账丑闻的陷阱为背景,从经济学的角度出发,通过对公司造假手段的分析,认为其根本原因:首先是在"他律"上产生问题,即现有的法律制度框架存在"缺陷";其次是"法律的真空",使公司无限放大利己动机,以致"道德缺失".     

内部控制与企业进出口业务反舞弊

<正>现代企业理论将企业视为不同利益集团间一系列显性和隐性合约的组合,这些合约以不完备为其主要特征,也可以将企业解读成一系列委托代理关系的组合。因此,为解决企业由于委托代理关系而客观存在的道德风险和逆向选择问题,从二十世纪90     

试论网络经济环境下的会计创新

网络经济不仅对传统会计的基本理论和组织管理提出了更新、更高、更深的要求。而且带来了对传统会计的理念、理论与方法前所未有的强烈冲击。财务工作者必须对会计管理信息系统进行全方位的创新。使会计能够适应新的经济形式的要求。     

Factors that Influence the Moral Reasoning Abilities of Accountants: Implications for Universities and the Profession

The need to maintain the public trust in the integrity of the accounting profession has led to increased interest in research that examines the moral reasoning abilities (MRA) of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). This study examines the MRA of CPAs practicing in small firms or as sole practitioners and the factors that affect MRA throughout their working careers. The results indicate that small-firm accounting practitioners exhibit lower MRA than expected for professionals and that age, gender and socio-political beliefs affect the moral reasoning abilities of small-firm practitioners. We also find that completion of an ethics course in college has a positive impact on MRA. Also, the survey respondents indicate overwhelming support for including ethics courses within the business curriculum. Finally, the fact that those accountants with the lowest MRA are the least supportive of ethical training may indicate the need for mandatory, rather than optional, training in ethics both in university and Continuing Professional Education courses.     

我国注册会计师诚信缺失的理性分析

本从诚信与否对注册会计师期望收益的影响入手，分别从公司治理、中小投资与注册会计师之间的搏弈、我国现行法律对第三人的保护，以及管制部门的监管四方面，对当前我国注册会计师诚信缺失的原因进行了分析。指出关键原因之一在于缺乏一种使注册会计师认为不诚信就会很容易被发现，且一旦被发现必定会受到惩罚的机制，并对如何建立这种机制提出了建议。     

智能财务时代下财会人员培养路径分析

随着当前科技产业及人工智能技术的发展,智能财务在不同领域中的应用使其优势被人们承认并熟知。在此发展趋势下,传统财会人员的工作内容随之改变,财会行业对行业人才的要求也更加严格。因此,需要对财会人员的培养方式进行转型升级,使相关从业人员顺应智能财务时代发展的潮流。结合智能财务发展现状对当前我国财会行业的现状情况及困境进行讨论,提出智能财务时代下财会人员的培养路径,以期帮助财务人员适应智能时代,更好的规划职业路径。