Differences in the Perceptions of Moral Intensity in the Moral Decision Process: An Empirical Examination of Accounting Students

Differences in the Perceptions ofMoral Intensity in the Moral DecisionProcess: An Empirical Examinationof Accounting Students Deborah L. LeitschABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to gain abetter understanding of the impact of moral issues on themoral decision-making process within the field ofaccounting. In particular, the study examined differencesin the perceptions of the underlying characteristics ofmoral issues on the specific steps of the moral decisionmaking process of four different accounting situations.The research results suggested that students perceptionof the components of moral intensity as well as the variousstages of the moral decision-making process was influenced by the type and intensity of the moral issue. Ingeneral, accounting students perceptions of the importance of these variables varied between less unethical andmore unethical accounting issues. The differences inperceptions of four moral intensity components: magnitude of consequences, concentration of effect, probabilityof effect and proximity stood out more in the accountingissues analyzed.The findings presented in this research extend theexisting understanding about the importance of thecomponents of moral intensity in the ethical decisionmaking process of accounting processionals. The resultscan be integrated into revised or newly adopted companycodes of ethics to comply with the requirements of the

newly enacted Sarbones-Oxley Act of 2002. They canalso be used to enhance ethics coursework and trainingprograms in educational settings and industry.KEY WORDS: moral intensity, ethics, accounting,business ethics, moral issueEthics in the accounting profession has gained significant interest within the past few years. Theaccounting scandals surrounding Enron, World-Com, GlobalCrossing, and Tyco have caused someto believe that there now exists a crisis inaccounting (Business Week, 2002). As Nussbaum(2002) summarized, with enormous pressures toproduce earnings growth, auditors are being turnedinto (financial) enablers (p. 31). They seem to becasting aside their traditional role as outside skepticand disclosure of information, for a new role asfinancial magician (Nussbaum, 2002).In light of the problems and concerns that havegenerated interest in business ethics and theaccounting profession, an increased stream of academic research has emerged. James Rest (1986)proposed a Four Component Model (moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral intentions, and moralbehavior) that represented a sequence of cognitiveprocesses that must occur for moral behavior to takeplace. The empirical research has examined moralsensitivity (Shaub, 1994), moral judgment (Armstrong, 1987), and behavioral intentions ( Jeffery,1993) of accountants faced with ethical conflict.Other studies have focused on the influences ofindividual, situational, and...