The Aggressiveness of Tax Professional Reporting: Examining the Influence of Moral Reasoning ^☆

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Abstract

This chapter investigates the effect of moral reasoning of tax professionals on the aggressiveness of their reporting recommendations. The findings of the study indicate moral reasoning influences the aggressiveness of tax reporting decisions separate from the influence of client pressure. As the level of moral reasoning increases, the aggressiveness of the reporting position is found to0 decrease. Contrary to prior research, client pressure is not related to tax reporting aggressiveness. Failure to observe this relationship may signal a shift in behavior resulting from the intense public and regulatory scrutiny at the time of data collection which was in the immediate aftermath of the Enron scandal.

Citation

Blanthorne, C., Burton, H.A. and Fisher, D. (2014), "The Aggressiveness of Tax Professional Reporting: Examining the Influence of Moral Reasoning ^☆

Data Availability: Contact authors.

", Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (Advances in Accounting Behavioural Research, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 149-181. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1475-1488(2013)0000016011