What's wrong with the treadway commission report? Experimental analyses of the effects of personal values and codes of conduct on fraudulent financial reporting

In three studies, factors influencing the incidence of fraudulent financial reporting were assessed. We examined (1) the effects of personal values and (2) codes of corporate conduct, on whether managers misrepresented financial reports. In these studies, executives and controllers were asked to respond to hypothetical situations involving fraudulent financial reporting procedures. The occurrence of fraudulent reporting was found to be high; however, neither personal values, codes of conduct, nor the interaction of the two factors played a significant role in fraudulent financial reporting.Arthur P. Brief is the Lawrence Martin Chair of Business at Tulane University where he also is the Director of The William B. and Evelyn Burkenroad Institute for the Study of Ethics and Leadership in Management as well as, by courtesy, Professor of Psychology.Janet M. Dukerich is an Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business Administration at The University of Texas at Austin.Paul M. Brown is an Associate Professor of Accounting in the Stern School of Business at New York University.Joan F. Brett is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.