African Journal of
Business Management

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Bus. Manage.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1993-8233
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJBM
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 4194

Full Length Research Paper

Ethical behavior in accounting: Some evidence from Turkey

  Yasemin Zengin KaraibrahimoÄŸlu*, Ece Erdener and Turgut Var        
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Izmir University of Economics, Sakarya Caddesi no: 156 Postal Code: 35110, Balcova, Izmir, Turkey.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 25 August 2009
  •  Published: 31 October 2009

Abstract

 

In today’s business environment, the role of accountants is significant. Managers and other decision-makers base their decision mainly on information that accountants provide. Since accuracy of decisions depends on the reliability of accounting information, the ethical dimension of the profession has gained considerable attention recently. Furthermore, major corporate failures such as Enron, Arthur Anderson and WorldCom have made ethical issues a paramount concern to those working in business and accounting. With this understanding, this study examined whether ethics is teachable or not based on a survey conducted among business students in two Turkish universities. Overall, research findings suggest a strong support for the inclusion of ethics in business and accounting curriculum.

 

Key words: Accounting, ethics education, ethical attitudes, cognitive attitudes.