Ethics of the Accountancy Profession and Demographic Variables: A Scrutiny of Past Studies and Directions for Future Studies

Abstract

The profession of an accountant exemplifies in all the attributes required of a profession and over the years has bloomed into a full-fledged and vibrant profession. Professional credibility in accounting profession maintained with integrity and honesty not imperilled by the presence of undue influence and conflicts of interest, that is with as much independence as possible is called the ethics of the accountancy profession. In view of the vast scale of accounting scandals with a devastating effect on stakeholders, the challenges for the professional accountants are multidimensional and complex. Understanding and regulation of the professional behaviour is crucially dependent upon gaining an insight into a number of issues related to the ethics of the Accountancy Profession.  Thus, it is important to have a general acquaintance with the various issues before initiating any measure to deal with these challenges. The impact of demographic variables is one of such issues requiring a careful scrutiny. It is here the review of multiple literatures related to the impact of demographic variables can greatly facilitate such careful examination of the impact of demographic variables on the ethics of the accountancy profession. Although demographic issues influence all human activities and previous studies have recognised the impact of demographic variables, few accounting studies have integrated demographic issues into their literature. This is especially true of the ethics of the accountancy profession. Thus, there is a dearth of an in-depth study on the impact of the demographic variables on the ethics of the accountancy profession in the context of a different culture as well as a changing professional scenario. There is also a need for replicating and extending the study of demographic variables. The results of the various studies reviewed above are not foolproof. Therefore, there is a scope for further research concerning the same area.