Ethics in the Search for Accounting Employment: Student and Recruiter Perceptions.
研究了会计专业学生在求职中面临伦理困境时的看法，并与会计师事务所招聘人员的看法进行比较，发现两者对伦理问题的严重性认知相似，但学生在拒绝不当行为上的确定性较低。
Abstract Ethical concerns continue to shape the accounting profession and motivate academic research. We explore ethics in a new context, the recruiting process. Specifically, we examine the perceptions of accounting majors about to enter the job market when faced with selected ethical dilemmas typical of the search for professional employment. In addition, we comparatively examine the perceptions of recruiters at national public accounting firms. Our analyses reveal that, on average, neither students nor recruiters display an inclination to take (students) or recommend taking (recruiters) actions that might be regarded as questionable. However, differences are observed in three of the six scenarios we pose, with the students exhibiting less certainty about refraining from specific actions than the recruiters do about not recommending them. Additional analysis indicates that both students and recruiters view the relative severity of the ethical dilemmas presented in much the same way. Collectively, these results suggest that although the two groups share similar perceptions about whether situations represent ethical pitfalls, accounting students may not choose to respond in ways consistent with recruiters' recommendations. Findings in further tests for alternative explanations reveal evidence of possible age and experience effects, suggesting that the students' responses may reflect a relative ethical ‘immaturity’ rather than an intrinsic inclination toward unprincipled behavior.