The Importance of Ethics and Ethical Leadership in the Accounting Profession
Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting
ISBN: 978-1-78441-666-9, eISBN: 978-1-78441-665-2
Publication date: 16 October 2015
Abstract
The beginning of the twenty-first century was plagued with extensive, evasive, and disheartening U.S. business and political leadership failures. Despite the accounting profession’s standards of professional ethics, accounting as a profession also was tainted with various ethical leadership indiscretions during this time. In response to these ethical leadership failings, renewed interest in developing accounting professionals with strong ethical principles and ethical leadership behaviors emerged. In many firms, training and development in ethical behavior is now at the forefront of communications and professional development efforts. The question remains, however, can the profession instill in its members the importance of ethical conduct? Can ethical leaders be developed who model ethical behavior? In response to the call for leaders who are ethical and moral, this research examined a model of ethical leadership and its impact on leader effectiveness for leaders within the accounting profession. The analysis shows that ethical and transformational leadership behaviors make independent and significant contributions to explaining leader effectiveness.
Keywords
Citation
Copeland, M.K. (2015), "The Importance of Ethics and Ethical Leadership in the Accounting Profession", Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting (Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 61-98. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1574-076520150000019012
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015 Emerald Group Publishing Limited