Accounting Ethics Instruction

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Accounting Ethics Instruction Introduction Ethics and ethics education play a crucial role in accounting because accountants deal with sensitive information in their day-to-day activities. Failure to maintain ethical behavior within the profession has resulted in fraudulent practices in the past. As noted by Brands and Lange, the scandals associated with unethical behavior in the accounting profession has led to a decline in the level of trust in the profession (34). This has, in turn, facilitated the need for firm accounting ethics, which are usually incorporated into all accounting courses. However, questions on the best intervention techniques have been raised recently, which has also prompted a need for research in the area. The purpose of this research paper is to examine accounting ethics instruction and its effectiveness in enhancing the ethical reasoning ability among accountants. To do so, some articles that address the core concepts of this research paper, especially about accounting ethics, have been identified and analyzed. The analysis of the articles forms the basis of the research on accounting ethics instruction because they not only provide a source of materials for literature review but also gives direction on the development of the topic. Analysis of the Articles The analysis of the articles also provides a background of the study. By critically examining different studies that have been conducted on the concept of accounting ethics and its impact on the profession, it becomes possible to understand what has been achieved so far and the gaps that need to be filled. As such, these articles link to my future research in the sense that they provide background information as well as an insight into the areas that still need to be addressed about accounting ethics education. Article One The article by Shawver and Miller examined the effectiveness of specific ethics intervention in improving the perception of moral intensity among students taking an Advanced Accounting course. To effectively research their topic, they developed and investigated the hypothesis: “H1: Students’ perception of moral intensity as a whole will increase as a result of the ethics intervention in their Advanced Accounting course” (Shawver and Miller 3). Three other specific hypothesis were also developed and investigated: “H2a: Students will show an increase in their overall level of moral sensitivity/awareness as a result of the ethics intervention in their Advanced Accounting course, H2b: Students will show an increase in their overall level of Moral Judgment as a result of the ethics intervention in their Advanced Accounting course, and H2c: Students will show an increase in their overall level of Moral Intent as a result of the ethics intervention in their Advanced Accounting course” (Shawver and Miller 3). By developing the hypothesis further to address the specificity of moral intensity in terms of the judgment, intent, and awareness, these researchers were able to investigate specific variables that relate to ethics. The researchers invited applicants from two universities in the U.S. to participate in the study, although it is not clear the methodology adopted in the selection ...