The ethical judgments of Polish accounting students regarding earnings management
The ethical judgments of Polish accounting students regarding earnings management

Summary/Abstract: Behavioural accounting is a branch of accounting that deals with human attitudes and behaviours to accounting phenomena, which determines decision‐making behaviour. The most important ethical issue facing the accounting profession is earnings management. The aim of this study was to assess the prevailing attitudes of Polish accounting students towards earnings management. The impact of indi-vidual variables (gender, age and work experience) on ethical judgments regarding earnings manage-ment was assessed. The study revealed that the students’ judgements were affected by the field of manipulation in earnings management. The manipulated accounting method was far less ethically acceptable than manipulated operating decisions. Perceptions of ethicality in accounting practices did not differ significantly between students working in accounting, students working in other fields and unemployed respondents. With regard to age, younger participants were more likely to regard earnings management practices as less ethical than older respondents, but the observed differences were not statistically significant. The differences between genders were not statistically significant either. The research makes a useful contribution to the scientific debate as it is the first research of that type in Poland, shedding light on behavioural aspects of earnings management.

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