Accounting--Moral and ethical aspects.

A significant challenge faced by large auditing firms is offering consistent quality
across the global network. Unfortunately, variation in judgments and decision-making,
resulting from cultural differences, can undermine the provision of a uniform level of
audit quality for these international firms. Previous research has determined that national
culture influences an auditors’ professional judgments and decisions. Relying on Social
Identity Theory, I explore whether inducing one’s organizational identification can both
enhance auditor judgment and mitigate any deleterious impact that culture may have on
the provision of a uniform level of audit quality. I also examine current cultural variations
in auditor judgment in order to ensure that the results of earlier studies still typify the
international auditing environment. National culture is assessed using two dimensions
(individualism/collectivism, power distance) included in Hofstede’s 1980 cultural values framework. Participants from the United States are used to represent an
individualistic/low power distance culture while individuals from India are used to
represent a collectivistic/high power distance culture. Firms need mechanisms to elicit
desired behaviors that may not be consistent with cultural tendencies in order to provide a
uniform level of audit quality.
Contrary to expectations, no significant differences are identified between the
judgments of auditors from India and The United States. The results, however, do provide
evidence that enhancing one’s organizational identification can impact certain
professional judgments during the audit process. An association between national culture
and auditor attitudes pertaining to client trust is also found. The implications of these
findings for the professional auditing environment and future academic research are
discussed.

Taxpayers who hire tax professionals to assist with tax matters have a choice as to which type of tax professional to hire. This study looks at the choice between hiring a tax accountant or a tax attorney. Stephenson (2010) identifies four constructs that explain a taxpayer’s motivation to hire a tax professional—legal compliance, time savings, money savings, and a protection from/avoidance of the Internal Revenue Service. A taxpayer may be motivated by one or more of these demand constructs. Further, the context of the advice—whether given in a planning or compliance setting—may influence the choice of a specific type of practitioner. Taxpayers also perceive certain professional features of the practitioner as being associated with either an accountant or an attorney. In a 2 x 1 between subjects research design, I investigate these issues by exploring how the perceived characteristics of the accounting and legal professions and the tax context differentially influence the demand for one of these professionals. I hypothesize that taxpayers who demand a tax professional because of legal compliance or time savings are more likely to hire an accountant. Taxpayers who demand the services of a tax professional because of money savings or a protection from/avoidance of the Internal Revenue Service are more likely to hire an attorney. Additionally, I hypothesize that taxpayers in a planning context are more likely to hire an attorney while taxpayers in a compliance setting are more likely to hire an accountant. In a hierarchal regression, the variable for accuracy was significant in a simple regression of the four Stephenson constructs. In a second tier of the regression, accuracy was again significant as were certain covariates. In the final tier of the regression, no independent variable was significant but certain covariates were significant including client advocacy which was highly significant. The results do demonstrate that taxpayers perceive professional differences between a tax accountant and a tax attorney. Many of the results and the rationales underlying the hypotheses seem to be in the right direction as far as showing the expected demand for a specific tax professional.