Etyka zawodowa księgowych z perspektywy studentów – prezentacja wyników badań ankietowych
Professional Ethics of Accountants from the Perspective of Students – Presentation of Survey Results

Summary/Abstract: Professional ethics is a set of rules and norms determining how – from a moral point of view – representatives of a particular profession should behave. Codes of ethics are a tool for developing ethical principles and values adapted to specific professional groups, including professional accountants. For several years, there has been the Code of Professional Ethics in Accounting (CPEA) to be followed, adopted by the Association of Accountants in Poland. According to the Code, the basic principles for accounting professionals include honesty, objectivity, professional competence and due diligence, maintaining the confidentiality of information, and professional attitude. The research problem is an attempt to answer the question: Do the individual ethical principles and ethical values of students coincide with the ethical principles of the professional community of accountants that CPEA presents? The aim of the article is to identify moral and potential unethical behaviors among accounting students in the context of the ethical principles of CPEA. To achieve the goal of the article, an empirical study was carried out. The pilot study using the PAPI technique was used in the research process. The quantitative methods were used in the development of the survey results. As results from the research, students pointed to general, well‑known ethical values. However, the students’ individual behavior is not always consistent with what is considered to be appropriate and ethical according to the standards of the professional environment. It is clearly visible that the students are guided by their own ethical principles, even if they violate the law, make choices to behave following their own interest. The obtained research results reveal the tendency of many respondents towards various kinds of unethical activities that threaten the implementation of general ethics in accounting, both among people who intend to work and those who declare their participation in internships in accounting professions.

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