The Research Of Prediction Effect Of Ethical Evaluation Orientation On Auditor’s Ethical Decision-Making In Client Pressure Situation

Ethical evaluation orientation refers to moral philosophy the individual believes in faced with ethical problems. Previous studies found that the ethical evaluation orientation can guide individual’s decisions. Studying the prediction effect of ethical evaluation orientation on auditor’s ethical decisions based on ethical equity, relativism, contractualism, utilitarianism, egoism is helpful for comprehensive cognition on auditor’s ethical decisions-making, help to explain the differences in auditors’ethical reasoning structure profoundly, and help to understand how the key situation factors in auditing influence the auditor’s ethical decisions definitely. However, few previous researches consider the effect of both the locus of control and client pressure on ethical evaluation orientation’s prediction effects on auditor’s ethical decisions. Therefore, it is very necessary to study the prediction of ethical evaluation orientation on auditor’s ethical decision-making, and the effect of locus of control and client pressure on the prediction effect of auditors’ ethical evaluation orientation.With the method of questionnaire survey and situational approach, the investigation subject of auditors in accounting firm in Liaoning province, this paper study the predictive effect of ethical evaluation orientation on auditors’ ethical judgment and behavior intention, and the effect of locus of control and client pressure on the above-mentioned prediction effect. The empirical results found that:first of all, moral equity, relativism, contractualism, utilitarianism, egoism all can predict the auditor’s moral decision-making:the auditors make the ethical judgment mainly based on moral equity, contractualism, utilitarianism, egoism; and make behavior intention mainly on the basis of moral equity, relativism, utilitarianism, egoism. Second, internal and external auditors depend on different ethical evaluation orientation to form ethical judgment and behavior intention in a specific situation:such as, in situation with no client pressure, internal auditors depend on moral equity and contractualism while external auditors depend on utilitarianism and egoism to make ethical judgment. What’s more, internal auditors depend on relativism and utilitarianism while external auditors depend on, egoism and relativism to make behavior intention. Finally, specific auditors depend on different ethical evaluation orientation to form ethical judgment and behavior intention in situation with no client pressure and situation with client pressure:Client pressure makes the internal auditor mainly increase the consideration of egoism while external auditors mainly reduce the consideration of utilitarianism and egoism to form ethical judgment; However, client pressure makes the internal auditor mainly reduce the consideration of utilitarianism, while external auditors mainly increase the consideration of egoism to form behavior intention.Suggestions of this paper are:first of all, the accounting firm may formulate appropriate rules and regulations, training system and shape the corresponding culture to guide auditor’s ethical evaluation orientation, such as leading auditors to emphasize the notion of justice and right values to regulate their behaviors. Secondly, the firm can pay attention to the effect of locus of control on auditor’s ethical reasoning structure, such as allocating the auditors appropriately on the risk position so as to guard against the risk of unethical behavior resulted from the personality traits. Finally, the firm can perform the pressure management on auditors based on the prediction effect of ethical evaluation orientation on auditor’s ethical decisions, such as dispatch appropriate auditors according to client stress levels in audit practice to prevent the risk of unethical behavior which is easily caused by client pressure.