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Article
Publication date: 22 March 2022

Andrew West and Sherrena Buckby

Recognising the growing importance of professional judgement within professional accounting, this paper examines how it relates to Aristotelian practical wisdom, with reference to…

1231

Abstract

Purpose

Recognising the growing importance of professional judgement within professional accounting, this paper examines how it relates to Aristotelian practical wisdom, with reference to the ethical failure at Carillion plc in 2018. This includes an examination of how these concepts are similar and how they differ and a reconceptualisation of professional judgement in Aristotelian terms.

Design/methodology/approach

The conventional understanding of professional judgement is articulated with reference to accounting standards, professional accounting institutions and academic research. This is compared to Aristotelian practical wisdom, as presented in the Nicomachean Ethics. Both of these conceptualisations are analysed with reference to the failure of Carillion plc.

Findings

Some similarities as well as significant differences between the conventional conceptualisation of professional judgement and Aristotelian practical wisdom are identified. Application to the accounting failure of Carillion plc shows how an Aristotelian reconceptualisation of professional judgement, as an ethical concept, provides a more adequate understanding of unethical accounting behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis identifies aspects of professional judgement in accounting that have not previously been explored empirically, but which nevertheless have empirical support in other domains.

Practical implications

Professional judgement is reconceptualised in ethical terms, which informs how professional bodies and firms should conceive and apply this concept.

Originality/value

Although there has been research on judgement informed by psychology, there has been little research linking judgement and wisdom in an accounting context. This paper utilises a philosophically informed perspective on wisdom to reconceptualise professional judgement in a way that provides a more adequate understanding of ethical failures.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2021

Nico van Rensburg and Ogujiuba Kanayo

This paper aims to identify how entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training affects and adds to their overall ethical judgement skills within and outside the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify how entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training affects and adds to their overall ethical judgement skills within and outside the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a qualitative approach and included a combination of 12 male and female entrepreneurs who were purposively selected based on the study’s requirements. The primary data was collected through semi-structured one-on-one interviews, and interpretative phenomenological analysis served as the primary method of data analysis.

Findings

Findings from this study suggest that entrepreneurs’ active involvement in sports/athletic training does indeed influence their ethical judgement skills all-round. Arising from a combination of sports involvement factors, a unique group of underlying elements surfaced that proves valuable accustomed relationships concerning the significant impact sports/athletic training have on successful entrepreneurs’ ethical judgement skills.

Research limitations/implications

The active involvement in sports/athletic training undoubtedly plays a vital role in achieving entrepreneurs’ daily ethical judgement ability. However, this study was limited to the opinion of a small sample of participants in a specific field. Also, this study’s phenomenological nature requires the researcher’s interpretation of the results to be viewed as the truth.

Practical implications

This study provides a new perspective and validates how purposeful involvement in sports/athletic training regimens can boost the ethical judgement skills of entrepreneurs all-round. This study also proves powerful and new insight into the unique relationships among the accustomed factors and the underlying elements thereto – contributing beyond existing theory.

Originality/value

This study is novel and provides new and powerful insight into the ethical judgement skills and benefits derived thereof that can be developed by entrepreneurs from the active involvement in sports/athletic training.

Details

Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-4604

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1995

Douglas Brownlie and Jason Christopher Spender

Aims to delineate and explore the terrain of mainstream literatureon strategic marketing management. Draws attention to the important roleof judgement in almost everything that…

2681

Abstract

Aims to delineate and explore the terrain of mainstream literature on strategic marketing management. Draws attention to the important role of judgement in almost everything that marketing managers do and for organizations. Considers the orthodox treatment of uncertainty and judgement in marketing management and strategy and concludes that it is restrictive in that it presupposes an approach to strategic decision making that is the exception, not the norm. Highlights the important role of the personal development and learning of top marketing managers as investments in the quality of marketing judgement.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2000

Fawzi Laswad and Melvin Roush

Financial reporting standards on foreign currency translation in many countries such as New Zealand, US, Australia, and Canada and the international standard issued by the…

Abstract

Financial reporting standards on foreign currency translation in many countries such as New Zealand, US, Australia, and Canada and the international standard issued by the International Accounting Standards Committee require the classification of foreign operations for translation purposes into two mutually exclusive types: integrated or independent. This classification determines the translation method. In judging whether a foreign operation is either integrated or independent, the accounting standard requires the evaluation of five qualitative factors. The standard neither describes the judgement process nor identifies the relative importance of the determining factors. It has been asserted that this lack of clarity may yield dissimilar results for firms whose circumstances are similar and consequently may reduce the comparability of financial statements across firms. Using a repeated measures design, this paper examines the judgement of preparers of financial statements (financial controllers) in determining the designation of foreign operations for translation purposes. The results indicate that the relative importance of the determining factors is about equal. No support is found for the assertion that the use of qualitative factors in accounting standards results in dissimilar judgements (lack of consensus) across respondents. Further, the results show that the subjects demonstrated consistency and self‐insight in their judgements. The results also indicate that the judgements of respondents are not biased toward either classification of foreign operation. This suggests that the observed bias may be motivated by economic factors rather than the outcome of using the qualitative cues in the accounting standard. When the respondents were debriefed, several of them identified ‘managerial independence’ as another determining factor that has not been included in the standard.

Details

Pacific Accounting Review, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0114-0582

Article
Publication date: 15 January 2018

Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi, Takiah Mohd Iskandar, Gary S. Monroe and Norman Mohd Saleh

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of self-efficacy, goal orientation and task complexity on audit judgement performance in correctly linking audit procedures to…

2458

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of self-efficacy, goal orientation and task complexity on audit judgement performance in correctly linking audit procedures to audit objectives and types of misstatements.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an experiment audit with 154 auditors from small and medium audit firms in Malaysia as participants. The experimental task required them to link audit procedures to audit objectives and types of misstatements.

Findings

For sample of auditors from small and medium audit firms in Malaysia, the authors found that learning goal orientation has a stronger effect on audit judgement performance than performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations. Self-efficacy mediates the effect of goal orientation when an audit task is less complex compared to when the task is more complex.

Research limitations/implications

These results highlight the importance of social cognitive factors in explaining variations in audit judgement performance for audit judgement tasks with different levels of complexity.

Originality/value

The incorporation of individual psychological differences as explanatory variables in audit judgement studies may lead to a better understanding of auditors’ judgement and decision-making processes in small and medium audit firms located in developing economies.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 July 2019

Suhaiza Ismail and Zuhudha Rasheed

This paper aims to identify the influence of personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants in Malaysia. In particular, there are two research objectives for this…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the influence of personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants in Malaysia. In particular, there are two research objectives for this study: first, to investigate the influence of ethical ideology on the ethical judgement of accounting students and second, to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on ethical judgement.

Design/methodology/approach

The respondents of the study were final year undergraduate accounting students from three public universities in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire comprising instruments about ethical ideology, EI and ethical judgement was distributed. A total of 205 responses were received and were deemed as useable. To achieve the research objectives, multiple regression was performed.

Findings

The findings indicate that idealism and EI have a positive influence on the ethical judgement. In contrast, the study discovered that relativism influences ethical judgement negatively.

Originality/value

This study fills the research gap as research on personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants is very limited and scarce. It gives insights to the various parties concerning how to enhance ethical judgement among future accountants, which ultimately will improve the credibility of the accounting profession.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2021

Dante Baiardo Cavalcante Viana Jr, Isabel Lourenço and Ervin Lynn Black

This study aims to analyse the association between country-level ethical judgement and earnings management and the role that firm-level enforcement and the quality of accounting…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the association between country-level ethical judgement and earnings management and the role that firm-level enforcement and the quality of accounting standards play in this association.

Design/methodology/approach

The analyses are based on a sample of 45,889 firm-year observations from 34 countries between 1998 and 2018. Based on the World Values Survey questionnaire, this study constructs a comprehensive index of the ethical judgement of each country.

Findings

The empirical findings suggest that firms from countries where ethically suspect behaviours are less acceptable are associated with lower levels of accruals-based earnings management and that firm-level enforcement and the quality of accounting standards dampen such association.

Practical implications

The results contribute to the debate about ethical issues in the accounting profession in an international context, adding to the sustainable development debate given that the creation of long-term value for firms is intrinsically related to business ethics and good quality financial reporting.

Social implications

When it is known that countries’ ethically-related judgements reduce the level of earnings management, actions can be taken by regulators and other stakeholders to build fairer societies with a more sustainable view, given that the quality of the financial reporting is inextricably linked to how income and wealth are distributed.

Originality/value

While previous literature documents that ethical judgement at both the individual and organizational levels matter as key determinants of the way managers are involved with unethical accounting practices, this study investigates the role of ethical judgement at the country level in explaining earnings management.

Details

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8021

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 May 2019

Leïla Oubrahim, Nicolas Combalbert and Véronique Salvano-Pardieu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of aggressive behaviour among children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) and to demonstrate a possible…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of aggressive behaviour among children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) and to demonstrate a possible link with moral judgement.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was carried out using two scales on a sample of 60 young people with ID in specialized schools. The first scale was “Behavior Problems Inventory-Short Form” (Rojahn et al., 2012) used to assess the frequency of aggressive behaviour and the second involved several scenarios about social situations of aggressiveness to assess moral judgement.

Findings

The main findings indicate that children and adolescents with ID gave more importance to the factor “consequences” than to that of “intent”. Moreover, there was a link between moral judgement and aggressive behaviour. Indeed, aggressive people found it harder to take into account the other’s point of view. Regarding moral judgement, they gave greater importance to the “consequences” factor than non-aggressive people.

Originality/value

The study aimed to establish, for the first time, a link between aggressiveness and moral judgement (blame) in ID (Anderson, 1996). This study clearly provides useful information regarding public health for patients, professionals and families. The authors were able to measure a similar frequency of aggressive behaviour in both children and adolescents with ID. The authors also highlighted a link between these aggressive behaviours and moral judgement. This knowledge should enhance understanding of manifestations of aggressiveness in this population, and improve diagnostic assessment. It should also help define appropriate directions for educational interventions to prevent the onset of aggressive behaviour or delinquency.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-8824

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 January 2020

Yuqian Zhang, Anura De Zoysa and Corinne Cortese

This study aims to investigate two issues inherent in accounting judgements: the directional influence of uncertainty expressions and how they might positively or negatively…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate two issues inherent in accounting judgements: the directional influence of uncertainty expressions and how they might positively or negatively affect accounting judgements and the foreign-language effect (FLE), which refers to the reduction of judgement bias that occurs when an accounting judgement is made in one’s foreign language. This study examines both issues in the context of accounting judgements made in Chinese and English languages.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted two experiments. The first experiment applied a 2 × 2 between-subject research design, and the second experiment adopted a 2 × 2 within-subject approach.

Findings

The overall results revealed that directionality biases existed in the exercise of accounting judgement in subjects’ native and foreign languages. However, when the language was switched from the subjects’ native tongue to a foreign language, overall directionality biases are reduced.

Research limitations/implications

This study suggests that the use of native and non-native languages can have unintended consequences on accounting judgements. However, because of the limitations of using students as proxies for professionals and applying self-assessed language scales, the literature would benefit from future research that extends the subject profile to professional accountants and that assesses language skills more objectively.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on cross-lingual accounting, both theoretically and methodologically. It also extends the FLE theory to an accounting context, providing insights on how language is involved in judgements concerning uncertainty expressions.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 28 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 February 2020

Brian A. Rutherford

This paper aims to advance the case for accounting scholars possessing substantial professional accounting expertise to use judgement drawing on that expertise…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to advance the case for accounting scholars possessing substantial professional accounting expertise to use judgement drawing on that expertise (target-disciplinary judgement) as a major component of their research methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper addresses methodological issues drawing on the criteriological debate within the methodological literature, a review of the ironies of contemporary narrative accounting research, including professional firm research, and an analysis of epistemological congruence seeking analogous cases in mainstream social scientific research.

Findings

The paper shows that, within a vocationally related subject like accounting, appropriately trained and qualified scholarly researchers have the opportunity to deploy their professional expertise to make expansive target-disciplinary judgements in ways that satisfy accepted social scientific methodological criteria and offer epistemological convergence comparable to that of mainstream approaches like insider anthropology and autoethnography.

Research limitations/implications

Using target-disciplinary expertise to make expansive judgements provides scholars with a way of expanding the range of research questions they address, including resuming evaluative-descriptive surveys that can, among other things, examine the quality of disclosures holistically rather than in the highly atomistic way often adopted by academics at the moment.

Social implications

The approach defended in this paper offers accounting scholars the opportunity to apply their particular skills to investigate questions likely to be of interest to preparers and users of financial statements, to explore issues of wider interest, such as the adequacy of environmental or social responsibility disclosures, and to test and augment professional firm findings. In so doing, scholars can go some way to remedying the gap between academic research and practice.

Originality/value

Little attention has been given to the use of expansive, expert target-disciplinary judgement in the methodological literature.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

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