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Social responsibility, professional commitment and tax fraud

Author

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  • William E. Shafer
  • Richard S. Simmons
  • Rita W. Y. Yip

Abstract

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to document relationships between accountants’ socioeconomic beliefs and attitudes and their professional commitment and ethical decisions in a domain-specific context. Specifically, it investigates the relationships among Chinese tax accountants’ level of belief in the importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility, affective/normative professional commitment and ethical judgements/intentions in a case involving client pressure to commit tax fraud. Design/methodology/approach - – The study employs a survey of tax practitioners employed by public accounting firms in China. The data are analyzed using linear regression and structural equation modelling. Findings - – The stakeholder view, representing both normative and practical support for the importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility, was strongly and positively associated with professional commitment among tax practitioners. The stakeholder view also exhibited a strong negative association with intentions to engage in tax fraud. Tax accountants who possessed higher levels of professional commitment judged tax fraud as more unethical, and such ethical judgements were associated with a lower likelihood of intending to engage in fraud. Originality/value - – The associations between: first, professional accountants’ beliefs in the importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility and their level of professional commitment; and second, professional commitment and tax professionals’ ethical judgements have received little attention in the prior literature. The findings of this study suggest that the integrity of public accounting services may be influenced by relatively broad socioeconomic attitudes, and that this effect may operate partially through commitment to professional values.

Suggested Citation

  • William E. Shafer & Richard S. Simmons & Rita W. Y. Yip, 2016. "Social responsibility, professional commitment and tax fraud," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(1), pages 111-134, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:29:y:2016:i:1:p:111-134
    DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-03-2014-1620
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jianlei Han & Jing He & Zheyao Pan & Jing Shi, 2018. "Twenty Years of Accounting and Finance Research on the Chinese Capital Market," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 54(4), pages 576-599, December.
    2. Douglas Cumming & Wenxuan Hou & Edward Lee, 2016. "Business Ethics and Finance in Greater China: Synthesis and Future Directions in Sustainability, CSR, and Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 601-626, November.
    3. Dellaportas, Steven & Xu, Lina & Yang, Zhiqiang, 2022. "The level of cross-disciplinarity in cross-disciplinary accounting research: analysis and suggestions for improvement," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    4. Imad Al Zeer & Amjad Abdallah Alkhatib & Majed Alshrouf, 2019. "Determinants of Organisational Commitment of Universities’ Employees," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 9(1), pages 136-141, January.
    5. Changkun Cai & Qiyao Shen & Na Tang, 2022. "Do visiting monks give better sermons? “Street‐level bureaucrats from higher‐up” in targeted poverty alleviation in China," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(1), pages 55-71, February.
    6. Deqiang Deng & Chenchen Ye & Fan Wu & Yijing Guo & Hao Li & Changsheng Wang, 2023. "Effect of organizational ethical self-interest climate on unethical accounting behaviour with two different motivations in China: the moderating effect of Confucian ShiZhong Thinking," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Garcia-Blandon, Josep & Argilés-Bosch, Josep Maria & Ravenda, Diego & Castillo-Merino, David, 2022. "Board gender quotas, female directors and corporate tax aggressiveness: A causal approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Loes T. Wouters & Dorien L. Zwart & Daphne C. Erkelens & Marlies Huijsmans & Arno W. Hoes & Roger A. Damoiseaux & Frans H. Rutten & Esther de Groot, 2020. "Tinkering and overruling the computer decision support system: Working strategies of telephone triage nurses who assess the urgency of callers suspected of having an acute cardiac event," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(7-8), pages 1175-1186, April.
    9. Doyle, Elaine & Frecknall-Hughes, Jane & Summers, Barbara, 2022. "Ethical reasoning in tax practice: Law or is there more?," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).

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