Ethical ideology and fraud rationalization among future accountants in Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of ethical ideology on fraud rationalization among future accountants in Nigeria. Specifically, it investigates whether being a moral idealist or moral relativist influences the ability of future accountants to rationalize fraud. The study collected data from 225 participants with a scenario-based questionnaire, which was analysed using independent sample t-tests and regression estimation techniques. The results reveal a direct correlation between ethical ideology and fraud rationalization, indicating that future accountants who are high in moral relativism and low in moral idealism have higher tendencies to rationalize fraud than those who are high in moral idealism and low in moral relativism. These findings emphasize the importance of ethical ideology as an intrinsic psychological mechanism that can predict fraud rationalization tendencies in individuals. The study highlights the important implications of its findings and provides suggestions for future research.