The Significance of Business Ethics as a Competency Requirement in Fiji’s Accountancy Profession

Abstract

The concept of business ethics has been a part of the discussion in papers on ethics for decades; however, it is heavily brought to attention from the era of high-profile corporate collapses and accounting debacles. It is a concept that seems to be slowly gaining importance in the accounting curriculum across many universities; however, what are the forces behind prevalence of such malpractices? This study employs three research questions to address how ethics could form priority in the business environment. A ten-item survey questionnaire is utilized to obtain ranking on the various competencies from employers. Accountancy career advert review and accounting curriculum review is carried out to identify the position of business ethics. The findings highlight that employers place varying levels of importance to business ethics when recruiting graduates. The accountancy advertisements place very little significance on ethical behavior requirement. The recommendation from this study is that core business ethics course should form part of the undergraduate business program instead of a generic one. Continuous training sessions are required for the practicing accountants where the initiative should come from the accountancy profession and the significance of this competency should be reflected in the advertisements.

Keywords: Business Ethics; Accountancy Profession; Employability Competency; Accounting Curriculum; Accountancy Advertisement; Ethical Behavior

Australian Academy of Accounting and Finance Review, vol 2, issue 3, July 2016, page 264-279