Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Multidimensional Analysis of Tax Practitioners' Ethical Judgments

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigates professional tax practitioners' ethical judgments and behavioral intentions in cases involving client pressure to adopt aggressive reporting positions, an issue that has been identified as the most difficult ethical/moral problem facing public accounting practitioners. The multidimensional ethics scale (MES) was used to measure the extent to which a hypothetical behavior was consistent with five ethical philosophies (moral equity, contractualism, utilitarianism, relativism, and egoism). Responses from a sample of 67 tax professionals supported the existence of all dimensions of the MES other than egoism. Regressions of ethical judgments and behavioral intentions on the MES dimensions indicate that ethical decision making is most heavily influenced by the moral equity dimension, followed by the contractualism dimension. In contrast, the utilitarianism and relativism dimensions were only related to ethical judgments and behavioral intentions in isolated instances.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Inc.: 1997, Code of Professional Conduct(AICPA, New York).

  • Aranya, N. and K. R. Ferris: 1984, ‘A Reexamination of Accountants' Organizational-Professional Conflict’, The Accounting Preview 59(January), 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayres, F. L., B. R. Jackson and P. A. Hite: 1989, ‘The Economic Benefits of Regulation: Evidence from Professional Tax Preparers’, The Accounting Review 64(2), 300–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandy, D., L. Betancourt and C. Kelliher: 1994, ‘An Empirical Study of the Objectivity of CPAs' Tax Work’, Advances in Taxation 6, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brody, R. G. and J. J. Masselli: 1996, ‘Tax Preparers: Whose Team Are They On?’, National Public Accountant(March), 18–46.

  • Burke, T. J.: 1996, ‘The IRS Targets Cash Businesses’, Massachusetts CPA Review 70(1), 18–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns, J. O. and P. Kiecker: 1995, ‘Tax Practitioner Ethics: An Empirical Investigation of Organizational Consequences’, Journal of the American Taxation Association 17(2), 20–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carnes, G. A., G. B. Harwood, and R. B. Sawyers: 1996, ‘The Determinants of Tax Professionals' Aggressiveness in Ambiguous Situations’, Advances in Taxation 8, 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloyd, C. B.: 1995, ‘The Effects of Financial Accounting Conformity on Recommendations of Tax Preparers’, The Journal of the American Taxation Association 17(2), 50–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. R., L. W. Pant and D. J. Sharp: 1996, ‘Measuring the Ethical Awareness and Ethical Orientation of Canadian Auditors’, Behavioral Research in Accounting 8(Supplement), 98–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. R., L. W. Pant and D. J. Sharp: 1995a, ‘An International Comparison of Moral Constructs Underlying Auditors' Ethical Judgments’, Research on Accounting Ethics 1, 97–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. R., L. W. Pant and D. J. Sharp: 1995b, ‘An Exploratory Examination of International Differences in Auditors' Ethical Perceptions’, Behavioral Research in Accounting 7, 37–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. R., L. W. Pant and D. J. Sharp: 1993, ‘A Validation and Extension of a Multi-dimensional Ethics Scale’, Journal of Business Ethics 12, 12–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronbach, L. J.: 1951, ‘Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests’, Psychometrika 16, 297–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuccia, A. D.: 1994, ‘The Effects of Increased Sanctions on Paid Preparers: Integrating Economic and Psychological Factors’, The Journal of the American Taxation Association 16(1), 41–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, W. A., D. W. LaRue and P. M. J. Reckers: 1989, ‘An Empirical Examination of the Influence of Selected Economic and Noneconomic Variables in Decision Making by Tax Professionals’, Advances in Taxation 2, 91–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, D., L. Chonko and S. Hunt: 1988, ‘Ethical Problems in Public Accounting: The View from the Top’, Journal of Business Ethics 7(August), 605–615.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M. and I. Ajzen: 1975, Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research(Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Flory, S. M., T. J. Phillips, E. R. Reidenbach and D. P. Robin: 1993, ‘A Reply to “A Comment on a Multidimensional Analysis of Selected Ethical Issues in Accounting”’, The Accounting Review 68(April), 417–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flory, S. M., T. J. Phillips, E. R. Reidenbach and D. P. Robin: 1992, ‘A Multidimensional Analysis of Selected Ethical Issues in Accounting’, The Accounting Review 67(April), 284–302.

  • Gilligan, C.: 1982, In a Different Voice(Harvard University Press, Boston).

    Google Scholar 

  • Guiterrez, T., and M. Hulen: 1997, ‘Easier Offers in Compromise’, Journal of Accountancy(June), 57–61.

  • Hofstede, G.: 1991, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind(New York: McGraw-Hill).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D., and S. J. Vitell: 1986, ‘A General Theory of Marketing Ethics’, Journal of Macromarketing 6(Spring), 5–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D. and S. J. Vitell: 1993, ‘The General Theory of Marketing Ethics: A Retrospective and Revision’, in N. C. Smith and J. A. Guelch (eds.), Ethics in Marketing(Irwin Publishing, Homewood, IL), pp. 775–784.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D., S. J. Vitell and A. Z. Vasquez-Parraga: 1993, ‘Organizational Consequences, Marketing Ethics and Sales force Supervision’, Journal of Marketing Research 30(February), 78–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS): 1987, Survey of Tax Practitioners and Advisers: Summary of Results by Occupations(The Red Book) (IRS Research Division, Washington, D.C.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, B. R. and V. C. Milliron: 1986, ‘Tax Compliance Research: Findings, Problems, and Prospects’, Journal of Accounting Literature 5, 125–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, B. R. and V. C. Milliron: 1989, ‘Tax Preparers: Government Agents or Client Advocates?’, Journal of Accountancy(May), 76–83.

  • Jackson, B. R., V. C. Milliron, and D. R. Toy: 1988, ‘Tax Practitioners and the Government’, Tax Notes 41(3), 333–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. K. and L. A. Ponemon: 1993, ‘A Comment on “A Multidimensional Analysis of Selected Ethical Issues in Accounting”’, The Accounting Review 68(April), 411–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, S. and P. Reckers: 1985, ‘A Study of Tax Evasion Judgments’, National Tax Journal(March), 97–102.

  • Kidder, L. H.: 1981, Research Methods in Social Relations(Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • LaRue, D. and P. M. J. Reckers: 1989, ‘An Empirical Examination of the Influence of Selected Factors on Professional Tax Preparers' Decision Process’, Advances in Accounting 7, 37–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayo, M. A. and L. J. Marks: 1990, ‘An Empirical Investigation of a General Theory of Marketing Ethics’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 19(Spring), 165–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers, R.: 1986, Classical and Modern Regression with Applications(Duxbury Press, Boston).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, J.: 1978, Psychometric Methods(McGraw-Hill, New York).

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall, M. F. and D. M. Fernandes: 1992, ‘Social Desirability Bias in Ethics Research’, Business Ethics Quarterly 2, 183–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reckers, P. M. J., D. L. Sanders and R. W. Wyndelts: 1991, ‘An Empirical Investigation of Factors Influencing Tax Practitioner Compliance’, The Journal of the American Taxation Association 13(2), 30–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reidenbach, E. R. and D. P. Robin: 1990, ‘Toward the Development of a Multidimensional Scale for Improving Evaluations of Business Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 639–653.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reidenbach, E. R. and D. P. Robin: 1988, ‘Some Initial Steps Toward Improving the Measurement of Ethical Evaluations of Marketing Activities’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 871–879.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J. R.: 1979, Development in Judging Moral Issues(University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis).

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, M. R.: 1998, ‘Tax Accountants' Judgment/Decision-Making Research: A Review and Synthesis’, The Journal of the American Taxation Association 20(1), 78–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, D. L. and R. W. Wyndelts: 1989, ‘An Examination of Tax Practitioners' Decisions Under Uncertainty’, Advances in Taxation 2, 41–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schisler, D. L.: 1995, ‘Equity, Aggressiveness, Consensus: A Comparison of Taxpayers and Tax Preparers’, Accounting Horizons 9(4), 76–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schisler, D. L.: 1994, ‘An Experimental Examination of Factors Affecting Tax Preparers' Aggressiveness-A Prospect Theory Approach’, The Journal of the American Taxation Association 16(2), 124–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silver, D. P.: 1995, ‘Tax Compliance and Taxpayer Attitude’, National Public Accountant 40(11), 32–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spicer, M. and L. Becker: 1980, ‘Fiscal Inequity and Tax Evasion: An Experimental Approach’, National Tax Journal(June), 171–175.

  • Song, Y. and T. Yarbrough: 1978, ‘Tax Ethics and Taxpayer Attitudes: A Survey’, Public Administration Review(September-October), 442–452.

  • Trevino, L. K.: 1986, ‘Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model’, Academy of Management Review 11(3), 601–607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsui, J. S. L. and F. A. Gul: 1996, ‘Auditors' Behaviour in an Audit Conflict Situation: A Research Note on the Role of Locus of Control and Ethical Reasoning’, Accounting, Organizations and Society 21(1), 41–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, J.: 1974, ‘Taxation and Public Opinion in Sweden: An Interpretation of Recent Survey Data’, National Tax Journal(December), 499–513.

  • Weber, J.: 1990, ‘Managers' Moral Reasoning: Assessing Their Responses to Three Moral Dilemmas’, Human Relations 43, 687–702.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westat, Inc.: 1980, Individual Income Tax Compliance Factors Study Qualitative Research(Prepared for the Internal Revenue Service).

  • Wright, G. B., C. P. Cullinan and D. M. Bline: 1997, ‘The Relationship Between an Individual's Values and Perceptions of Moral Intensity: An Empirical Study’, Behavioral Research in Accounting 9(Supplement): 26–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yankelovich, Skelly and White, Inc.: 1984, Survey of Taxpayer Attitudes(Prepared for the Internal Revenue Service).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Accounting, California State University LA, CA, 90032-8121, Los Angeles, U.S.A.

    Cheryl A. Cruz, William E. Shafer & Jerry R. Strawser

Authors
  1. Cheryl A. Cruz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William E. Shafer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jerry R. Strawser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cruz, C.A., Shafer, W.E. & Strawser, J.R. A Multidimensional Analysis of Tax Practitioners' Ethical Judgments. Journal of Business Ethics 24, 223–244 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006140809998

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006140809998

Keywords

Search

Navigation