Etyka w liczbach: związki idealizmu i relatywizmu z postrzeganiem zjawiska kształtowania wyniku finansowego przez księgowych w Polsce
Ethics in numbers: Relationships between idealism, relativism, and accountants’ perception of earnings management in Poland

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of the article is to examine how individual ethical orientations – idealism and moral relativism – are associated with accountants’ perception of earnings management practices. Additionally, the study analyses the relationship between selected professional factors and the judgement of earnings management. Methodology/approach: The study was conducted using a survey among 100 accountants, employing D. Forsyth’s Ethical Position Questionnaire and scenario-based assessments of earnings management practices developed by L. Jooste. To identify relationships between the analysed variables, linear and ridge regression methods were applied. Findings: Moral idealism influenced accountants’ perceptions of earnings management practices. The observed relationship was contrary to the initial expectations, suggesting that idealism takes a more pragmatic than absolutist form within the studied sample. Relativism was not associated with the evaluation of practices. Professional factors were associated with perceptions of ethicality – particularly the place of employment and the scope of responsibilities. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited by the relatively small sample size of 100 respondents. Nonetheless, the results provide valuable insights for practitioners and managers in shaping an ethical organisational culture and designing monitoring systems for earnings management practices. Originality/value: The study constitutes a novel attempt in Poland to empirically analyse the influence of accountants’ ethical orientations on the perception of profit (loss) management practices, integrating Forsyth’s model with a scenario-based approach.

• Details
• Contents