The Relationship Between Machiavellianism and the Ethics of the Accounting and Auditing Profession: An Analytical Study of the Opinions of a Sample of Accountants and Auditors in Banks Listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange

Abstract

Machiavellianism tends to take actions that ignore moral norms and values. Therefore, this research seeks to study the relationship between Machiavellianism and the lack of commitment of accountants and auditors in banks listed in the Iraqi Stock Exchange to the ethics of accounting and auditing represented by the rules of Professional Conduct in order to achieve the research objective, the descriptive analytical approach was followed by designing a questionnaire and distributing it to a group of accountants and auditors working in nine banks listed on the Iraqi Stock Exchange. Excel was used to analyze the data to obtain the results. The research reached several results, the most important of which was the existence of a positive correlation and influence between Machiavellianism and non-compliance with the ethics of the accounting and auditing profession. This relationship is semi-strong or medium with the dimensions of confidentiality and integrity and weak with the dimensions of efficiency and objectivity. Based on these results, several recommendations were proposed, the most important of which are the need to pay attention to the integration of ethical aspects in the basic curricula of the accounting department and the development of continuing education programs to link ethics with the role and responsibility of the accountant and Auditor.