| The purpose of this quantitative study, with a correlation design, was to describe and quantify the relationships between accounting subordinates’ perception of their focal leader’s full-range leadership theory (FRLT) style, ethical climate type perceptions and whether understanding of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and personal religiosity bear on the subject. Statistically significant correlative relationships existed, with ps < .005, between transformational leadership and four of the five empirically derived ethical climate type perceptions (i.e., caring, r = .411; lawcode, r = .282; rules, r = .402; and instrumental, r = -.525). No statistically significant correlative relationships existed between transactional leadership and all five ethical climate type perceptions. Laissez-faire leadership exhibited statistically significant correlative relationships, with ps < .016, for a weak negative correlation with the rules ethical climate type perception (i.e., r = -.237) and a positive correlation with the instrumental ethical climate type perception (i.e., r = .247). Respondents’ with SEC clients and understanding the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations’ (FSGO) recommendations had a statistically significant correlative relationship, at the p = .048 and a slightly negative correlative relationship with instrumental ethical climate type perception (i.e., r = -.284). There were no statistically significant correlative relationships between personal religiosity and any leadership style and ethical climate type perception. Lastly, because of sub-sample size constraints, cross-sectional analysis was limited. However, using SPSS univariate analysis of variance with two independent variables, leadership style and a demographic category, all leadership styles manifested varying correlative relationships with one or more varieties of the ethical climate type perceptions, dependent upon respondents’ gender, primary work function, CPA licensure, firm size, and length of service with the current CPA firm. |
