Cognitive moral development theory and moral maturity of accounting and finance professionals

Fraud has infiltrated several corporate financial statements, thus bringing attention to the accounting and finance profession. The purpose of this study was to determine if age, gender, and former ethics education had an impact on the moral decision-making process of finance and accounting professionals below the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) levels. Due to the increased number of women in the workforce, it is important to understand the differences in ethical judgment between women and men. It is also important to understand if ethical maturity increases with age and it is equally important to make a determination as to whether business ethics courses are adequate in meeting the demand for integrity in financial reporting. Kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development was used as the theoretical foundation, and the Defining Issues Test (DIT) survey was used to collect data via the Internet. ANOVA and independent samples t test results revealed no statistical difference in ethical maturity by any of the 3 independent variables; age, gender, and formal ethics training. One recommendation coming from this study is that companies and educational institutions should develop more ethics courses that are targeted at finance and accounting professionals. The implications for positive social change result from the study's contribution toward providing an avenue by which corporations and educational institutions can began to develop ethics courses that will prepare students to be ethical finance professionals and will restore consumer confidence and strengthen satisfaction in the nation's financial institutions and markets.