Accounting education/training is overly focused on profit/wealth at the expense of ethics and society

Abstract

This thesis is a product of the aftermath of the financial crisis, 2008 and the immediate thought that accounting is not caught up misdemeanours. The heartbeat of the thesis is the conceptual framework- legitimacy theory (LT) and an essential part of which is the social contract, the licence for organisations and institutions to operate; therefore, they cannot ignore the public interest aspect. Accounting is littered with ethical scandals, not all of which make the front pages of the press Indeed, behind the headlines and the naming and shaming of organisations are individuals who made unethical decisions. However, the ethics taught at accounting training centres and universities is questionable according to the literature, the survey findings and the interviews from the perspective of the future- final year students (FYSs) and early career professionals (ECPs). Therefore, questioning the content and delivery in academia and training in terms of its effectiveness in combating the adverse side effects of the profit/wealth maximisation mantra- unethical behaviour. Two questionnaires cascade up to 50 questions/statements, making the surveys, to the best of my knowledge the most comprehensive in the area of ethics and accounting. Over 100 ECPs and over 450 FYSs fully completed the surveys. After that, several small focus group interviews again split into ECPs and FYSs. Their views about ethics are mixed- it is unclear whether ethics is understood, and largely based on the code of ethics (CoE). Based on the focus group interviews, ECPs and most FYSs are unaware of legitimacy theory (LT) and the pull of maximising profit/wealth is evident from the surveys and interviews. As such, there is an indication of profit/wealth maximisation over ethics and society that points to business schools and especially employers which will test their legitimacy in the eyes of society. From the evidence contained in this thesis, I call for a re-calibration concerning the pedagogy of ethics to include LT and philosophy and to be provided with its own space in the teaching and training environment. This is for future leaders and decision-makers to understand and absorb ethics and transmit the values of LT and Aristotle’s Phronimos, and to avoid, in the words of Habermas, a legitimisation crisis. In addition, and from the findings, catalysts for change, one which results in a more socially conscious form of capitalism are the influential players the accounting profession and UK business schools.