Proceedings of Annual Paris Business and Social Science Research Conference
7 - 8 August 2014, Hotel Crowne Plaza Republique, Paris, France, ISBN: 978-1-922069-57-3
Effects of Ethical Climate by Functional Specialization in a
Chinese Accounting Firm
William E. Shafer, Margaret C. C. Poon and Dean Tjosvold
This study examines the association between the perceived organizational ethical
climate in a Big 4 Chinese CPA firm and ethical decision making processes. We
examine these relationships across the three primary specializations in the firm:
auditing, taxation and consulting. The results provide evidence of interactive effects
of climate and specialization on ethical decisions. Specifically, both the
benevolent/cosmopolitan (public interest) and instrumental (self/firm interests)
climates were significantly associated with auditors’ ethical decision making
processes. In contrast, only the instrumental climate was associated with the
decisions of the tax and consultancy groups. These findings suggest that Chinese
tax and consulting professionals may not be giving adequate consideration to the
potential influence of their decisions on the public interest.
Key Words: Ethical climate, public accounting, public interest, ethical decision
making, China
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William E. Shafer and Dean Tjosvold, Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Margaret C. C. Poon, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong