The new era of ethical challenges for professional accountants

Based on over 1,100 responses from 135 countries, the findings reveal that 55% of accountants have witnessed unethical behaviour in their career and almost one in four (24%) have been put under pressure to behave unethically in the last three years.

In addition, the results revealed that more men have experienced ethical pressure than women: 27% of males have been put under pressure to act in an unethical way, compared with 19% of females.

People were asked to name their top three areas for ethical challenges over the past three years. The top results were:

• leadership and culture (40%)
• AI and technology (32% and 26%)
• sustainability (30%) 

Globalisation, driven by technology, is facilitating businesses to expand across borders – which in turn creates new ethical challenges emerging due to regional variations including cultural, legal and economic factors. While the drivers of complexity in ethical dilemmas are broadly similar globally, the research underscores the importance of considering the following local factors in promoting and enforcing ethical behaviour:

Western Europe

• Pressure to manipulate financial statements
• Discrimination, bullying, harassment
• Pressure from management to compromise independence
• Tax avoidance

Africa

• Bribery and corruption
• Financial misreporting
• Weak governance and accountability
• Normalisation of unethical practices

Asia Pacific

• Pressure to manipulate accounts
• Audit quality issues due to time and resource constraints
• Cultural factors, such as a reluctance to challenge authority
• Conflicts of interest

By contrast, the nature of where we work has also transformed during this time. With people often working remotely, and individually while part of a team, when ethical challenges do arise, they’re potentially resolving them in a different way. 

The research also highlights key areas for senior leadership to address in the near future. These include: mental health and wellbeing, professional competence and continuous learning, technology and data ethics, ethical leadership and governance, diversity, equity and inclusion and sustainability reporting.