Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication: How Self-efficacy may

Impact on Morality
Author(s): Jan Svanberg
Source: ARSP: Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie / Archives for Philosophy of Law
and Social Philosophy, Vol. 99, No. 1 (2013), pp. 95-114
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23680898
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ARSP
Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie
Archives for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy
Archives de Philosophie du Droit et de Philosophie Sociale ARSP Band 99 • Heft
Archivo de Filosofía Jurídica y Social © Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart

Jan Svanberg, Stockholm

Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as

Communication: How Self-efficacy may Impac
on Morality

Abstract: Accounting ethics is a growing field which is devoted to how ethical norms
perceived, understood, and how they affect behavior of professional accountants and a
tors. The field concerns what legal sociology could define as the effectiveness of a set
norms. The présent study adopts a Luhmann-inspired theoretical framework and questi
three assumptions that are common among the main thrust of empirical research on
counting ethics. This study proposes that the effectiveness of ethical norms in account
as the outcome of self-assessments, client-assessments and peer-assessments in wh
the ethical norms operate as a communication system. The perceived utility of the system
ethical norms appears to the individual as dépendent on how capable the individual belie
him/herself to be at communicating with the environment through ethical terminology. T
system-theoretical définition of the effectiveness of ethical norms in accounting allows n
research questions to be asked regarding how ethical norms become a viable alternativ
for solving accounting problems in practice.

I. Introduction

The purpose of this article is to demónstrate how Luhmann's legal sociological concepts
can be applied on important phenomena of accounting ethics research in search of
research hypothèses about how accountants' behavior is governed by moral norms.
One novelty that will be discussed in the présent article builds on the rejection of three
tacit assumptions, shared by most accounting ethics research. Once the assumptions
about accounting ethics as an objective set of norms applied to the Professionals as sole
récipients of behavior directives can be questioned with the aid of Luhmann's theoretical
work a new image of the communicative aspect of moral norms come to the foreground.
The choice of an accountant or auditor to lean against a moral norm as support for his/
her Standpoint about an accounting procédure appears through the Luhmann-lens as
subjected to the accountant/auditor's estimation of his or her ability to communicate
successfully with other relevant persons about the moral norm. This way of looking
at the basic accounting ethics research issue is quite différent from the conventional
approach, which has emphasized the behavioral directive aspect of a norm. According
to the norm as behavioral directive argumentation, improved accounting ethics may
be achieved if the accountant or auditor is equipped with stronger capacity for moral
reasoning, if motivation for the ethically correct décisions can become stronger or if
accountants and auditors have the right moral virtues. These three possible avenues
for improvement of the professional ethics have proven effective in previous research
and this is not the place to question them. Instead, the purpose of the présent article is

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 96 Jan Svanberg

to demónstrate ho
oped with the aid
related to a pheno
the philosophical o
The conventional idea about the inherent moral nature of a situation ¡s theoreti
cally problematic. Despite great variety of studies, research has built on a monolithic
theoretical foundation. For example decades of investigation of many factors that
impact on moral behavior has demonstrated déterminants of moral behavior such as
cognitive moral development, political and religious value orientation, ethical philoso
phy and locus of control.1 These individual factors have been contrasted by social fac
tors, according to the bad apples versus bad barréis divide. Social factors have been
identified as cultural, organizational and situational influences such as organizational
policy and reinforcement contingencies, referent others, relationships among actors,
and the professional context in which décisions occur.2 Despite the diversity of factors
that have been identified as having relationships with moral behavior the mainstream
research builds on the implicit assumption that the function of moral norms is to act as
behavioral directives. This function of moral norms is closely related to how the function
of legal norms has been conceived.3 Though outdated in many aspects the Austinian
command backed by threat model continues to influence legal sociology and to some
extent legal theory. According to Austin, a norm is supposed to define correct behavior
and, as far as the norm is effective in its function, behavior will conform to the directive
due to the motivating threat supplied by the norm's sanctions.
Accounting ethics is aimed at the behavior of accountants and auditors as ad
dressees. It is not surprising therefore that most studies concern how the addressees
may be made more (1 ) able to perceive ethical dilemmas, (2) able to analyze them, (3)
motivated to act morally correct about them, and (4) persist about the morally correct
resolution of them. These four avenues of research all relate to the effectiveness of the
moral norm as a behavioral directive with the professional as addressee. The Luhmann
inspired analysis of alternative functions of moral norms offers new interprétations of
existing accounting ethics research and new propositions of empirical research that
may be undertaken in the future.
Though there is no thorough theoretical analysis of ethics in the accounting ethics
literature there appears to be a general consensus that moral norms prescribe behavior
in situations that can be observed in the same manner by all persons. However, the
objectivist epistemology is only partially maintained because the perception of an ethical
dilemma is generally understood as a major problem for accounting ethics research
and as subjected to substantial variations between individuáis. In studies of moral
intensity and moral development it is taken for granted that persons perceive the situ

L. K. Trevino, Ethical Décision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model,

Academy of Management Review, 1986, 601-617. L. K. Trevino and S. A. Youngblood, Bad Apples
in Bad Barrels: A Causal Analysis of Ethical Décision Making Behavior, Journal of Applied Psychol
ogy 75(4), 1990, 378-385. 0. C. Ferrell, L. G. Gresham and J. Fraedrich, A Synthesis of Ethical
Décision Models for Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing (Fall), 1989, 55-64. W. H. Hegarty and
H. P. Sims Jr, Some Déterminants of Unethical Décision Behavior: An Experiment, Journal of Applied
Psychology 63, 1978, 451^157
D. M. Fleming, Romanus, R. N., Lightner, S. M. The effect of professional context on accounting
students' moral reasoning. Issues in Accounting Education, 2009,13-30,
J. Torpman & Jörgensen, F., Legal Effectiveness. Theoretical developments on legal transplants.
Archiv Für Rechts und Sozialphilosophie, 91 (4) (2005), 515-534

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 97

ation, are aware of the situation and understand the situation in an objective m
but whether persons perceive ethical aspects of the situation is considered a
The moral severity of the situation, its moral intensity, is now regarded as
the most important factor impacting on moral choice. A logical problem with
intensity concept it that it has been treated as an exogenous variable, thus exe
influence on ethicality independently of other factors' influence. Very few stu
been devoted to how a particular individual perceives and interacts with a si
and therefore individual variations appear to be unknown.4 Individual percep
ations do occur, which is why an alternative treatment of how the moral seve
situation is constructed by the perceiving mind is called for. When individual v
are taken seriously, perceptions of ethical issues move to the fore, and the p
can be discussed as a matter of how an individual observes environments, or h
individual 'constructs'the relationship between him/herself and the environme
Luhmann's terminology this reformulation would translate to the issue of how th
aspects of the world appear to an individual as a system/environment différe
the individual psychic system engages in the world based on a map of him/h
Différent from the conventional view proponed by most accounting ethics stu
moral intensity of a situation ought to be conceptualized as a product of an in
self-referential activities. As a conséquence psychological concepts such as self
must be regarded as potential déterminants of moral behavior and the perso
assessment of a situation ought to be treated as endogenous variables.
A discussion of interactions between the individual psyché and moral inten
ceptions relates to the general theme: how does the individual mind interact w
norms? The introduction of a communication-based interprétation of what i
to apply a moral norm in the accounting ethics context is presented as a dis
of three assumptions on which much accounting ethics research is built. The
sumption is that the target or referent of accounting ethical norms is the acc
or auditor. The second assumption is that the ethical norms constitute an ob
given system and the third assumption is that the function of this system is
behavioral directives. These assumptions have lead accounting ethics res
develop a focus on issues relating to compliance with ethical norms. The assu
are questioned in the présent article by adoption of system theoretical and so
argumentation resting on the définition of social Systems as communication,
by Luhmann, and by introducing the self-efficacy concept to the accounting ethi

II. The command and compliance orientation in accounting ethics rese

The focus of accounting ethics research has been on how accountants and
are affected by ethical norms in their work. Atacit understanding in most writin
subject has been that accounting refers to financial accounting, which is the
tion and display of economic information about legal entities to stakeholder
investors, employées, unions, the State, customers, and local government. F
accountants prepare financial reports and auditors verify that financial repor

S. J. Reynolds, Moral awareness and ethical prédispositions: Investigating the role of indi
férences in the récognition of moral issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91 (2006), 23
Ibid.
N. Luhmann, Die Form Person. Soziale Welt 42 (1991), 166-175
N. Luhmann, Social Systems. (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 1995

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 98 Jan Svanberg

a true arid fair vie

treats accountant
by ethical norms.
An understandin
of ethical norms
developed by Ja
four components
information and
tors model has ad
in succession to g
as follows.11

1. Moral sensitivi
pects. A person u
to role-taking an
2. Moral judgmen
able in ethical terms.
3. Moral motivation is the degree of commitment or desire for the moral course of
action. In a real situation this involves valuation of moral values over other values
and taking personal responsibility for outcomes of actions.
4. Moral character is the process that makes it possible for a person to persist in a
moral task although there is opposition, fatigue and temptation.

Accounting ethics research has not uniformly adopted this model, but it has a dominating
position in the literature.12 One aspect of the literature's application of the four factors
model has been that three implicit assumptions have become part of the foundation
of the leading research paradigm. The three assumptions are discussed below. The
discussion intends to show how the leading paradigm is at odds with the arguments that
support the communication centered perspective that is suggested in the current article.
The first assumption is that the exclusive target or referent of accounting ethical
norms is the accountant or auditor. Thus, studies have discussed how the capacity to
detect an ethical dilemma in accounting contexts varies with personal or situational
factors and how it can be improved. Some studies have regarded personal factors to
be the most relevant variables, while others have dealt with situational factors among
which is the moral intensity of the issue itself and some studies such as Trevino's
have combined factors.13 Those studies that focus on the individual tend to emphasize
cognitive moral development as vehicle for improved ethical sensitivity. Among the

True and fair view is an established expression in international accounting régulation such as IFRS
and IAS.

J. Rest, Development in Judging Moral Issues, (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press),
1979

L. Thorne, The Role of Virtue on Accountants' Ethics Décision Making, Research on Accounting Eth
ics 4 (1998), 291-308
J. Rest, Moral development: Advances in research and theory.( New York: Praeger), 1986, M. D.
Armstrong, M. J. Ketz and D. Owsen, Ethics éducation in accounting: Moving toward ethical motiva
tion and ethical behavior, Journal of Accounting Education and Accounting Education Vol. 21, No.1
(2003),1-16
C.f. S. B. Scofield, T. J. Phillips Jr., and C. D. Bailey, An empirical reanalysis of the selection-socializa
tion hypothesis: a research note, Accounting, Organization and Society 29 (2004), 543-563. A critical
view is offered by C. Gilligan, In a différent voice, (Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA), 1982
L. K. Trevino, Ethical Décision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model,
Academy of Management Review 11 (1986), 601-617

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 99

situational factors that have been considered there ¡s the intensity of the e
itself, and more intense ethical issues tend to be more easily detected by acc
The relevant variable is the accountant's ability to detect an ethical proble
corresponding ability of for example clients to understand how the accoun
ethically. The same focus on the accountant as target of ethical norms ap
second component in Rest's model: Moral development is the accountant's
ability to understand and give motives to ethical décisions. The moral dev
of other people in the accountant's environment has not been treated by th
research.15 Furthermore, research on the third component, moral motiva
the exclusive interest in the accountant/auditor as subject of ethical norm
exception.16
Finally, treatment of the fourth component, which is dépendent on the
possession of moral virtues, is also solely concerned with the accountant o
Virtuous Professionals are supposed to persist in carrying out their moral d
faced with opposition from their environment.17 The environment is rep
those studies by clients and peers, who are opposing the moral acts of the
professional, but the accountant is perceived as the sole subject of accoun
The second assumption is that the ethical norms are an objectively give
and the third assumption is that moral norms are behavioral directives. J
intensity concept rests explicitly on the assumption of an objectively giv
of moral norms. The moral intensity concept is central to the idea that t
objectively given system of moral norms because it states that the situat
see more or less severe in moral respect, and most research on moral inte
treated moral intensity as an exogenous variable. Jones18 noted that mor
does not include traits of moral decision-makers such as moral developme

14 D. L. Leitsch, Using dimensions of moral intensity to predict ethical decision-making i

Accounting Education: An International Journal 15 (2) (2006), 135-149.
15 In leadership research the opposite situation is established. Distributed leadership p
rooted concept that describes the interplay between actors who contribute to the eff
influence.
16 An example is a study of the relationship between moral intensity and motivation, D. L. Leitsch,
Using dimensions of moral intensity to predict ethical decision-making in accounting, Accounting
Education: An International Journal 15 (2) (2006), 135-149. Another example is a study of norms and
attitudes as predictors of motivation for ethical acts, A. J. Dubinsky and B. Loken, Analyzing Ethical
Décision Making in Marketing, Journal of Business Research 19, 1989, 83-107. Ethical intent has
been studied regarded its relationship to deontological and teleological évaluations in a study by M.
A. Mayo and L. J. Marks, An Empirical Investigation of a General Theory of Marketing Ethics, Journal
of the Academy of Marketing Science 18 (1990), 163-171. Robin and Reidenbach have shown that
ethical intentions to act are related to ethical attitudes, D. P. Robin, R. E. Reidenbach and P J. For
rest, The Perceived Importance of an Ethical Issue as an Influence on the Ethical Décision making
of Ad Managers, Journal of Business Research 35 (1996), 17-28. Several studies have investigated
relations between moral virtues and motivation for moral acts, E. L. Pincoffs, Quandaries and vir
tues, (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas), 1986, L. Thorne, The role of virtue in auditors'
ethical décision making: An intégration of cognitive-developmental and virtue-ethics perspectives",
Research on Accounting Ethics 4 (1998), 291-308, M. D. Armstrong, M. J. Ketz, and D. Owsen,
Ethics éducation in accounting: Moving toward ethical motivation and ethical behavior, Journal of
Accounting Education 21 (1) (2003), 1-16.
17 Studies which dealt with moral virtues have been mentioned above in note 15.
18 Jones, 1991, 372-373
19 L. Kohlberg, Moral Stages and Moralization: The Cognitive-Developmental Approach, in T. Likona
(ed.), Moral Development and Behavior (Holt, Rinehart), 1976, 31-53

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100 Jan Svanberg

strength, field depe

it contain organizat
cies23. Instead it re
of a situation is, an
the morally relevan
behavior. The tende
a pure system of m
A third assumptio
by research on acco
understood as fulfi
of the law and socie
shared by many stu
article in this journa
professional and ins
other authorities, a
theoretical framew
with its emphasis o
to the law and socie
between actual beh
sense the (in)effec
and actual behavior
applied to the study
directed at finding
The effectiveness c
of effective moral
define their researc
and Lewis investiga
of business ethics b
receive systematic
frequently defined
well-being of other
individual appears in
An appeal to sanct
ness measure, but t
sociology. Sanctions

L. K. Trevino, Ethical d
emy of Management
O. C. Ferell and L. G. G
in marketing, Journal
Trevino, 1986
Ferell and Gresham, 1
According to Austin, th
dence of jurisprudence
F. Jörgensen, and J.
79-101

M. Feeley, The concept of laws in social science: A critique and notes on an expanded view, In K
Rokumoto, (ed.), Sociological Theories of Law, (Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing), 1994
P. V. Lewis, Defining 'Business Ethics': Like Nailing Jello to the Wall, Journal of Business Ethics 4
(1985), 377-383
C.f. Jones, 1991

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 101

studies have dealt with the theme.29 As noted above, one aspect that is part
définitions of accounting ethics is the appeal to consensus opinion.30 Therefor
norms are understood as the effect of social construction31 processes for w
social sanctions are indispensible. Though the institutionalization is not discu
the accounting ethics literature, the idea of a consensus opinion as définition
norms may be interpreted with the aid of Luhmann's concept formalization.3
expectations are those that pass through a particular institutionalization proce
become compulsory norms when they are perceived as membership conditio
example in an Organization, a professional Community such as the accountin
sion, or even in a society. When the widespread opinion becomes sufficientl
tionalized, non-conformation would be criticized, as expressive of a critic of t
ethical system, and the social pressure develops a motivation among people t
with moral norms. Deviation would incur psychic and social costs because dé
would not be compatible with the accountant's définition of himself as a memb
profession. Though self-definition and motivation in Luhmann's terms have
previously studied in the accounting ethics literature, several studies ha
gated the impact of social pressure from both accounting clients and peers o
behavior.33 Furthermore, Thorne et al. found a relationship between ethical
and the threat of sanctions embodied in institutional factors, such as law, pro
régulation and penalties has been referred to by other research as motivatio
in the accounting ethics context.34
The three assumptions embody an effectiveness concept which has guided
on accounting ethics to a great extent. For example the idea of an objective sy
moral norms paired with the assumption that the function of these norms is t
accountants' and auditors' behaviors have implied the notion that moral intensi
treated as an exogenous variable regarding its effect on behaviors.35 Morris

S. E. Kaplan, J. A. Samuels & L. Thorne, Ethical norms of CFO insider trading, Journal ofA
and Public Policy 28 (5) (2009), 386-400. J. Béedard, The disclplinary process of the a
profession: protecting the public or the profession? The Québec experience, Journal ofA
& Public Policy 20 (4/5) (2001), 399-437. S. Loeb, A survey of ethical behavior in the a
profession, Journal ofAccounting Research 9 (Autumn, 1971) 287-306, S. Loeb, Enforceme
code of ethics: A survey. The Accounting Review 47 (January, 1972), 1-10. A. Briloff, M
Than Crédits, (New York: Harper & Row), 1976, A. Briloff, The Truth About Corporate A
(New York: Harper & Row), 1981, A. Briloff, Accountancy and the public interest, Advance
Interest Accounting 1 (1986) 1-14, R. Davis, Ethical behavior reexamined, The CPA Journ
cember, 1984), 32-36, C. Lehman, Accounting ethics: Surviving survival of the fittest. A
Public Interest Accounting 2 (1988) 71-82, T. Tinker, Panglossian accounting théories: Th
of apologizing in style. Accounting, Organizations and Society 13 (2) (1988), 165-89, S.
Trends in ethical sanctions within the accounting profession, Accounting Horizons 14
427-439
Consensus is an integral part of Jones' (1991) moral intensity construct.
The term construction is admittediy colliding with the previously stated assumption that ac
ethics tend to adopt the view that moral norms are an objective system. Objectivity may t
perceived here as inter-subjectivity.
N. Luhmann, Funktionen und Folgen formaler Organization, 4#1 ed., (Berlin: Duncker & Hu
1995
C.f. E. M. Bamber and V. M. lyer, Auditors' Identification with their Clients and Its Effect on Auditors'
Objectivity, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 26 (2) 2007,1-24
L. Thorne, D. W. Massey & M. Magnan, Institutional context and Auditors' moral reasoning: A Cana
da-U.S. comparison, Journal of Business Ethics A3 (2003) 305-321
C. Lehman, Accounting ethics: Surviving survival of the fittest. Advances in Public Interest Account
ing 2. (1988) 71-82

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102 Jan Svanberg

Donald concluded f
magnitude of cons
to stages in the fo
Jones' model.36 Th
generally supporte
found similarly th
significant effects
was Davis et al. th
nitude of conséque
judgments relating
study Frey found
of effect had effe
students Leitsch r
tors as predictors o
context that ail six
ethical perceptions
intensity of the m
of objective moral
independent variab
dépendent variabl

III. Application of

The main contentio

tions of moral nor
introduction of new
in ARSP it was dem
society-oriented r
communication-or
new legal sociologi
legal system funct
the lawyers and lay

S. A. Morris and R. A
vestigation, Journal
M. S. Singer, The Role
parison of Managerial
469-474, M. S. Singer,
ments: Its Relationshi
(1998)527-541.
M. A. Davis, N. B. Johnson and D. G. Ohmer, Issue-contingent Effects on Ethical Décision Making:
A Cross-cultural Comparison, Journal of Business Ethics 17(1998), 373-389.
B. F. Frey, The Impact of Moral Intensity on Décision Making in a Business Context', Journal of Busi
ness Ethics 26 (2000), 181-195.
D. L. Leitsch, Using dimensions of moral intensity to predict ethical decision-making in accounting,
Accounting Education: An International Journal, Vol. 15 No. 2, (2006), 135-149.
A. S. Singhapakdi, J. Vitell and K. L. Kraft, Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision-making of Marketing
Professionals, Journal of Business Research 36 (1996), 245-255.
J. Torpman, and F. Jörgensen, Legal Effectiveness: Theoretical Developments on Legal Transplants,
ARSP 91 (2005), 515-534, F. Jörgensen, and J. Svanberg, Legal self-efficacy and managers' use of
law, ARSP 95 (1), (2009), 79-101

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 103

judgments of their respective abilities to communicate through legal concepts and to

understood by their environments. If parties judge that legal communication is a viab
alternative, they tend to use legal terminology as définition of their relationship and ten
to apply legal norms as social structure, rather than alternative, less formai, norms.
An analogous approach is discussed here, where ethics are defined as a set o
communication opportunités in Luhmann's sense.43 As is the case with law, the ethic
judgments in accounting are often understood in terms of services provided by prof
sional auditors to laymen.44 When accounting ethics are understood as parts of the
services that accountants or auditors provide to clients, the System of moral norms
defined as residing in or as controlled by accountants and auditors. For this system t
clients are part of the environment. This person-based définition of norms, typical f
law, is applicable also to accounting ethics. A conséquence of the person-based form o
defining norm Systems is that the distributed functioning of the system is neglected an
a centralized, sanction-driven compliance-orientation is overemphasized. Accounting
ethics seem to concern only Professionals, though clients' often play the key roles
accounting scandais. Board members and management of client companies are most
frequently the architects behind business frauds.
A second argument that contributes to show that compliance is not the only pos
sible way to conceptualize the effectiveness of accounting ethics concerns how ethi
interact with the person's motivation. A compliance-oriented définition of effective norm
requires of the person who is under the influence of the norms that he/she understan
the norms, that the norms are accepted as such and that they are motivating for t
person. However, there are ways of reacting to norms that precede compliance wit
a behavioral directive, and these reactions may be relevantly defined as meaningful
behaviors although the behaviors are not compliance. An accountant who is deviatin
from an ethical rule which is obligatory in a situation may reject the ethically require
behavior on two levels. The accountant may (1) reject what accounting ethics has to
say about the situation or (2) reject accounting ethics as a meaningful way of com
municating about the situation. When (1) occurs the accountant does not agree abou
an interprétation of ethical norms, presumably in an argumentation with a client. Th
parties are referring to the system of ethical norms as means to define the situati
and their relationship and in this sense they are referring to the system of ethics th
provides their communication with normative meanings. When (2) occurs the situatio
is more dramatic from effectiveness perspective, because one of the parties is not ev
considering ethical norms relevant as a characterization of the situation or the relati
ship. An auditor may refer to an ethical rule when discussing the appropriateness o
an aggressive accounting position with a client, who does not listen to the argumen
but instead wants to define the problem in terms of personal friendship or bargainin
The client rejects ethics as a relevant form of discussing accounting in the particul
situation. Dworkin's theoretical disagreement concept may serve as comparison. The
currently mentioned disagreement is more fundamental than a theoretical disagree
ment, because there is a rejection not only of the auditor's interprétation of what eth
are, but also a rejection of the whole idea that ethics could be relevant in the situatio
This rejection is on a similar theoretical level as Luhmann's conceptualization of the

J. Torpman & F. Jörgensen, Legal Effectiveness: Theoretical Developments on Legal Transplants,

ARSP91, (2005), 515-534
The analogy can be established with Luhmann's reasoning about legal Systems in N. Luhmann, Th
Self-reproduction of law and its limits, in N. Luhmann, Essays ort self-reference, (1990) New Yor
Columbia University Press.

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104 Jan Svanberg

récognition or accep
would accept that t
does not agree abou
moral norms but di
most radical sense as
can be accepted or r
the effectiveness of
proposai is of prima
ing about matters,
is ineffective. This
compliance because
When parties adop
finding accounting
ethical aspects of ac
The point is that a
people, most impor
made convinced abo
example, may expre
responsible for its p
ent to comply with
client company's an
and comments abou
with their environ
of rules and recomm
it is a matter for th
can be defended ag
A strict interprétati
the accounting firm
reasonable accountin
about the appropria
From a legal sociolo
professional's envir
precedence over oth
ethics are norms, th
even more striking
and ethical théories
understood by refer
referred to the diff
of the particular nat
expectations may be
when there is count
through learning w
such that cannot be
determined through
control. Legal norm

45 N. Luhmann, Social
46 W. E. Shafer & Z. Wa
countants, Managerial A
47 N. Luhmann, Rechts

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 105

social institutionalization or by natural drift of reason.48 The Individual must abide with
his/her role as interpréter of normative expectations, but while an interpréter of law
has access to Statutes and précédents the interpréter of ethics must be more self suf
ficient and therefore there is particularly room for disputes about proper interprétation
concerning ethics.
An attribution of greater importance to the intertwined relationships between ac
counting Professionals, clients and ethical norms is offered by introducing a combin
tion of Hirschman's theory of customer loyalty and Luhmann's communication concept
to the discussion of how accounting ethics are applied.49 Hirschman found, in a study
that has become one of the foundations of marketing research, that customer loyalty
was dépendent on how the customer estimated his/her ability to communicate with a
supplier in a way that would serve the customer's interests. He then defined customer
loyalty not as the probability that a customer continues to deal with the supplier, but as
the customers' trust in his/her ability to communicate with the supplier in a productive
manner. If a supplier was easy to discuss with, the customer tended to be more faith
ful and customer loyalty would be high. Likewise an accountant can be more or less
loyal to the system of accounting ethics. The more the accountant feels confidence in
his/her ability to communicate through ethical terminology in such a way that the com
munication is understood and accepted by clients and peers the higher the loyalty to
the ethical norms. This corresponding argument was developed in a previous article
in this journal, then referring to loyalty to the legal system, but the analogy with ethics
does not introduce any additional difficultés.50
Luhmann has demonstrated how the legal system can be defined as a system of
communications, and thus how legal application can be viewed as referring to a par
ticular system-environment différence that provides the communication with certain
meanings.51 When referring to law, a person is communicating normative expectations
that have their origin in the institutionalized procédures that produce the norms. The
essence of the normative meanings in legal communication is, at least according to
the 'Legalität durch Verfahren' concept, the forms through which they are stabilized,
through législation, judge made law, practice, and possibly doctrine.52 One conséquence
of understanding a system of norms in this manner is that the loyalty according to
Hirschman must face the opposition from the two forms of rejection of a communication
mentioned above, (1 ) the possibility that the reference to a system of ethics is rejected
and (2) the possibility that the interprétation of the particular norm is rejected but the
reference to the system of ethical norms is accepted. An accounting professional's
loyalty to accounting ethics is then the function of his/her belief in his/her capability
to communicate with clients and peers in such a manner that the communication is
accepted as a reference to accounting ethics and preferably that the proposed inter
prétation of a norm is accepted as well. The accounting professional must posses
a positive attitude to both steps, otherwise the likelihood is small that any appeal to
accounting ethics will be made in the situation. Thus, ethical norms are effective when
persons believe in their abilities to communicate about accounting in ethical terms with

The latter alternative is described by I. Kant, The moral law. Groundwork of the metaphysics of mor
áis, (London: Routledge), 1991
A. O. Hlrschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Ftesponses to decline in firms, organizations, and states,
1970
See note 41.
N. Luhmann, Das Recht der Gesellschaft, (Frankfurt Am Main: Suhrkamp), 1995
There is a différent possibility to argue according to Dworkin and according to natural law concep
tions.

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106 Jan Svanberg

particular other per

ethical norms when
This proposed argu
ethics. It violâtes th
would dépend on ho
with ethical termin
with the ethical arg
all four inner state
judgment of how s
ation, would dépend
Previous studies in
intensity as an exo
Rest's model of eth
predicts the furthe
described as an en
judgment of his/her
specific persons. Pe
through ethical ter
more intense, whil
the situation tend t
The first assumpti
the sole subject and
proach combined w
to communicate th
The subject to accou
colleagues. A treat
cordingly lead to w
social psychological
is a subjective estím
tion as a way of de
dimension of accou
définition of the situa
The second assumpt
variable and moral
ethics research. Eth
the origin or ontolo
how ethical norms
forth here is that t
norms and the acc
norms on the indiv
for which the ethic
tween ethical norm
of moral intensity
is therefore questio
The third assumpt
of ethical norms re
by reference to the

53 J. Rest, Moral deve/

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 107

theory.54 Some simple Systems can be defined with only one purpose, such
gine which typically has the purpose to convert fuel to kinetic energy. Su
are allopoietic, which means that they are defined by their purpose. Other
such as a living cell or a social system, are producing themselves as we
things during their continuous opération and may not be defined as having o
only.56 Systems of ethical norms have many functions simultaneously and o
defined as autopoietic Systems. Functions include stabilizing social expe
and decreasing transaction costs in markets, or contributing to an even di
of resources among people. Compliance with moral norms would be one
possible measures of the effectiveness of the system. A system of moral n
many functions may be regarded as effective if it interacts with other Sy
that certain désirable effects are developed. When the application of moral
defined as a process that incorporâtes the prospect to communicate with c
colleagues the compliance concept is insufficient as description of how eff
moral norms are. Instead, the moral system is effective if the accountant is
attempt communication with his/her environment about the moral judgm
countant makes, regardless if the accountant is compliant with a consensus
what moral codes would require of an accountant in the particular situation
moral system is effective if it can be activated by the accountant in comm
and the propensity to communicate through moral terminology is a functio
self-efficacy, the individual's own judgment of the prospects of communicati
moral terminology given how the individual perceives his/her abilities to co
and given the perceived difficultés to communicate about moral matters w
and colleagues. In this sense the limitations of a person-based idea of m
paradoxically, revealed by referring to how a person applies moral norms.
norms facilítate communication opportunités which are filtered through a
self-efficacy beliefs, and this phenomenon reveáis that the function of a m
is not simply to direct behavior of a group of persons. Moral norms invite p
in communication to search for good actions and the provision of motivat
search among participants in communication may be viewed as one of m
tions of a system of moral norms. Any communication that relate to accoun
passes through a moral self-efficacy judgment by communicating parties, wh
self-efficacy may be understood as a key filtering mechanism and an indica
well a system of accounting ethics fulfills its functions that relate to comm
The role played by moral self-efficacy as déterminant of how moráis are ap
accounting context will be further developed as follows.

IV. Moral self-efficacy: The propensity to communicate through moral ter

What psychological mechanism determines the choice between adopting or

a moral point of view on an accounting issue? According to the cognitive m
opment (CMD) approach one necessary mechanism is the human unders

54 H. Maturana and F. Varela, Autopoiesis and Cognition: The reaiization of the living, (Bo
idel), 1980
55 This is true in the version of social theory as explained by N. Luhmann, Social Systems, 1995. Other
alternatives would be to define social Systems as comprised by material substance, for example
people.
56 See note 44.

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 108 Jan Svanberg

moral legitimizatio
to apply moral nor
perceive a moral d
an accountant is m
the most frequent
motivation for a m
While CMD is rep
tional, post-conven
attributes of character that describes an individual's direct concern for the interest
of others regardless of personal risk.60 Moral motivation has been proposed as a
reflection of the person's moral virtue.61 In the following it will be discussed how self
efficacy differs from both CMD and moral virtues. The belief in one's capacity to deal
with ethical terminology can be described with the psychologically developed concept
'self-efficacy'. People's assessments of their own capabilities to achieve specific tasks
strongly influence human motivation and behavior.62 Therefore it is reasonable to
assume that self-efficacy is relevant for the choice to apply an ethical perspective to
a situation. Prior experience and performance help create self-efficacy perceptions,
which are strong predictors of subséquent performance. A growing body of research
has demonstrated the effects of self-efficacy beliefs on behavior.63 Effects have been
detected on leadership, self-development programs, human capital, work training,
training proficiency, task persistence, goal directed behavior and many other areas.64
The most closely related area to ethics in which self-efficacy has proven to be related
to behavior is the use of law. Jörgensen and Svanberg found a positive relationship
between legal self-efficacy and the propensity to use law among 250 Russian busi

57 L. Kohlberg, The philosophy of moral development, (San Francisco: Harper & Row), 1981, L. Kohl
berg, The psychology o1 moral development 2"" ed.( San Francisco: Harper & Row), 1984
58 L. Thorne, 1998, Armstrong et al., 2003
59 See note 54.
60 E. L. Pincoffs, 1986
61 L. Thorne, 1998
62 A. Bandura, Social Foundations for thought and action: A social cognitive theory, 1986.
63 J. E. Maddux, L. W. Norton and C. D. Stoltenberg, Self-efficacy expectancy, outcome expectancy
and outcome value: Relative effects on behavioral intentions. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 51 (1986), 783-789, T. A. Judge & J. E. Bono, Relationship of core self-evaluations
traits - self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability - with job
satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis, Journal of Applied Psychology 86 (2001), 80-92,
C. Lee, Self-efficacy and behavior as predictors of subséquent behavior in an assertiveness training
programme. Behavior Research and Therapy, 21 (1983), 225-232.
64 C. M. Shea, The Effect of Leadership Style on Performance Improvement on a Manufacturing Task.
Journal of Business, 72 (1999), 407-22, J. Pienaar, S. Rothmann, J. C. Rothmann, The Evaluation
of a Self-Development Programme for Managers in a Corporate Pharmacy Group. South African
Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 6 March (2003), 50-71, M. W. Allen, S. H„ Leiser
and D. Adult, Economic Model and Values Survey: Cross-National Différences in Economic Beliefs.
Journal of Economic Psychology, 26 (2005), 159-85, C. E. Schwoerer, D. R. May, E. C. Hollensbe
and J. Mend, General and Specific Self-Efficacy in the Context of a Training Intervention to Enhance
Performance Expectancy. Human Resource Development Quarterly. 16(1) Spring (2005), 111-29,
W. A. Lucas, S. Y. Cooper, Enhancing self-efficacy to enable entrepreneurship: The case of CMI's
Connections. Working paper, Sloan School of Management at MIT. (2005), J. R. Baum, E. A. Locke,
The relationship of entrepreneurial traits, skill, and motivation to subséquent venture growth, Journal
of Applied Psychology, 89 (2004), 587-598, M. L. Endres, The Effectiveness of Assigned Goals in
Complex Financial Décision Making and the Importance of Gender. Theory and Décision, 61 (2),
(September 2006), 129-57.

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Application of Moral Norms in Accountlng as Communication 109

ness managers.65 Furthermore, another previous study by the same author

implicitly referred to legal self-efficacy and built on Luhmann's communicat
in its addresslng the problem of legal effectiveness.66
As noted above, self-efficacy beliefs are not concerned wlth perceptions
and abilltles divorced from situations, but with what people belleve they c
their skills in a particular situation or type of situation. The action is typl
trivial motor action, but a complex set of actions which need to be dealt wit
orchestratlng and coordlnating complex skills in changing and challenglng
Thls description fits well with the moral domain dealt wlth by accountants
the complexlty of moral dllemmas. When resolvlng moral dilemmas the ac
would consciously or subconsciously go through an inventory of self-effic
that can be relevant for the situation at hand and search among manageabl
The feeling of control and compétence would play an important role for t
ant's cholee of moral action.
There are no previous studies on ethics and the self-efficacy concept, and partlcular
ly there are no previously known evidence that self-efficacy would affect the propenslty
to apply or the manner in which to apply ethics to accountlng. However, self-efficacy
Is regarded as an element of a person's self-concept and there are studies of varlous
other parts of self-concept and ethlcal accountlng behavlor as well as other ethical
behavlor. The exclusive attention to Kohlberg's moral development concept has been
crlticized,67 and other research has adopted an Identity approach to varlous stages of
moral behavior.68 Social identity theory has been used as explanation for relationshlps
between identity and moral behavior. Among the research that has adopted models
relating to self-concept the use of the 'moral Identity' concept is closest to self-efficacy.
Moral identity has been deflned as the moral aspect of one's self.69 The moral identity
is a self-regulatory mechanism that motivâtes moral behavlor.70 The impact of the
moral Identity on motivation is explained by the self-consistency motive according to
which strong ethical identity compels the individual to act morally.71 Aquino and Reed
have demonstrated relatlonships between ethical identity and several moral behavlors
such as self-reported volunteerlng and wlllingness to mlnimize harm.72 The slmllaritles

F. Jörgensen, and J. Svanberg, Legal self-efficacy and managers' use of law, ARSP 95, (1) (2009),
79-101.
J. Torpman, and F. Jörgensen, Legal Effectiveness: Theoretical Developments on Legal Transpl
ARSP 91 (2005), 515-534,
J. Haidt, The emotional dog and Its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment,
Psychological Review, 10,(2001), 814-834, M. D. Armstrong, M. J. Ketz, and D. Owsen, Ethics
éducation in accounting: Moving toward ethical motivation and ethical behavior, Journal of Account
ing Education 21, (1) (2003), 1-16, S. J. Reynolds, Moral awareness and ethical prédispositions:
Investigating the role of individual différences in the récognition of moral issues. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 91( 2006), 233-243.
A. Blasi, Moral identity: Its role in moral functioning, In W. Kurtines and J. Gewirtz (Eds.), Morality,
moral behavior and moral deveiopment, 128-139 (New York: Wiley) 1984, A. Blasi, Bridging moral
Cognition and moral action: A critica! review of the literature, Psychological Bulletin, 88 (1980), 1-56.
R. Bergman, Why be moral? A conceptual model from developmental from developmental psychol
ogy, Human Development, 45 (2002), 104-124.
A. Blasi, W. Damon and D. Hart, Seif-understanding and its role in social and moral deveiopment,
in M. Bornstein and M. Lamb (Eds.), Developmental psychology: An advanced textbook, 421-458,
(Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum), 1992.
A. Colby and W. Damon, Some do care: Contemporary Uves ofJews in Nazi Europe. (New York: Free
Press), 1992
K. Aquino and A. Reed, The self-importance of moral identity, Journal of Personality and Social Psy
chology, (2002), 1423-1440

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 110 Jan Svanberg

between ethical ide

and revolve around
ethical self-efficacy
may have. Ethical i
two concepts inter
to which a set of m
to the way these t
the importance to
the self to be cari
contrary to these t
person and provid
these mental structures have functions for how behaviors are selected and motivation
is provided because these behaviors are désirable for the person. Ethical self-efficacy
operates differently. Self-efficacy is "the belief in one's capabilities to organize and ex
ecute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations".74 Self-efficacy
is a person's belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation. Bandura
described these beliefs as déterminants of how people think, behave, and feel. How
ever, self-efficacy is not related to particular values, and it is not relevant for the ethical
self-efficacy concept whether an accountant desires the ethical course of action or not,
but it matters whether the accountant believes in his/her capacity to communicate the
motives for the ethically preferred accounting position to clients and colleagues. The
self-efficacy concept is more relevant to the social relations the accountant must deal
with in executing his/her tasks in practice. It also breaks with the subtle assumption
discussed above, that the effectiveness of accounting ethics is a question of an isolated
ethical compliance phenomenon in the minds of the accountants. Ethical self-efficacy
invites the interprétation of the effectiveness of accounting ethical norms as the extent
that the accountant or auditor believes in his/her ability to communicate about ethical
judgment with clients and colleagues.
The proposed ethical self-efficacy approach does not replace the cognitive moral
development research paradigm but compléments it in important respects. The cog
nitive moral development approach is primarily concerned with how the individual
accountant or auditor understands moral norms, not how he/she estimâtes his/her
capacity to deal with persons in the environment in pursuing an ethically acceptable
alternative. Ethical self-efficacy introduces the relational aspect of accounting ethics
through the accountant's perception. While Kohlberg's CMD paradigm is convinced
about the primary importance of the individual accountant's ability to understand moral
reasoning for moral behavior, the communication perspective suggests that there are
Problems with CMD as explanation of moral behavior, because moral behavior is also
the outcome of self-efficacy beliefs. There are several problems with how CMD interacts
with communication because différent persons have différent CMD and an accounting
professional may reckon with the différences before engaging in moral communication
about an accounting issue. If the accountant believes that persons in the environment
operate at higher CMD stages than him/herself then the accountant may be deterred
from moral arguments because of the opposition that the environment could generate. If
the client has a higher CMD than an auditor and, typically, is not motivated to adopt an

73 S. J. Reynolds, and T. L. Ceranic, The effects of moral judgment and moral identity on moral be
havior: An empirlcal examination of the moral individual, Journal of Applied Psychology 92 6 (2007),
1610-1624

74 A. Bandura, Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies, (Cambridge University Press), 1995

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 111

extremely self-sacrificirig position, the client would be expected to often argue

the position taken by the auditor. An auditor with a perceived low ability to arg
the aid of moral terminology would be little motivated to adopt a moral point of
he/she thinks that the client is able to counterfeit the arguments the auditor think
herself able to produce. The fear of type (1) rejection would cause a high prob
that moral norms are ineffective in this situation. The opposite situation may al
ineffective norms. An auditor who believes that the environment is at lower st
CMD than him/herself would fear that for example the client is unable to unde
how the auditor argues and for this reason reject the moral point of view alt
This type (2) rejection would also decrease the probability that moral norms a
ferred to in communication and shape accounting behavior. These examples ¡Il
the inadequacy of treating accounting ethics as a matter of an accountant's/au
isolated compliance with norms. Instead it is likely that the professional's perce
of his/her environment and his/her abilities to successfully use moráis in comm
tion play important roles for the effectiveness of accounting ethics.
Previous studies regarding the relational aspect of accounting ethics hav
devoted to how auditors are affected by pressure, mostly from clients. One suc
of study is about the impact of auditors' identification with clients.75 Although sim
theoretical héritage, the présent study is différent from the client identification a
and from the frequently adopted organization-profession conflict research be
the self-efficacy concept désignâtes an aspect of the self which influences a p
general propensity to adopt a moral approach in communication with others, w
client identification as well as the organization-profession conflict research d
concepts that determine how désirable various ethical Standpoints appear to a
The latter does not deal with the more fundamental choice - to apply or not ap
moral perspective at ail.

V. Conclusions and implications

The accounting ethics subject has been guided by implicit assumptions that ail
from a compliance-oriented définition of norms. The research agenda has been
situational and personal factors that relate to an accounting professional's pro
to comply with moral norms. The empirical tradition which has dominated the
has lead to a lack of theoretical development about how accounting ethics inte
with behavior. A current of empirical measurements has revealed how accoun
auditors are affected by many personal and situational factors as they make d
about accounting with ethical dimensions. The studies tend to assume that (1)
norms are referring to accounting Professionals' behavior and (2) moral norm
behavioral directives. They are referring to moral norms as an objectively given
(3), for which the subjective judgments have little importance. This préoccupati
Professionals may be interpreted as an outcome of the view of accounting eth
part of a profession-client divide. These tacit assumptions correspond with a
of the social dimension of accounting ethics. When the social dimension of th
cation of accounting ethics as resolution of accounting issues is considered ins
the définition of ethics as a social system, or horizon of meaning, for commun
is fruitful. According to this interprétation the system of ethical norms is not onl

75 E. M. Bamber and V. M. lyer, Auditors' Identification with their Clients and Its Effect on Au
jectivity, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 26, (2) (2007), 1-24

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 112 Jan Svanberg

of normative expec
one of several optio
and to communicate about it.
A third assumption which has informed accounting ethics research is that ethics
consist of a System of objective norms. The lack of subjective influence on the ethical
norms is related to the idea that ethical norms are effective when Professionals comply
with them as passive récipients of directives. The passive compliance is also related
to the assumption that Professionals are the subjects of accounting ethics, and thus
that there is no social dimension to the application of accounting ethics. A différent
way of dealing with accounting ethics is to apply a functional analysis to the system
of ethical norms in accounting in a manner similar to Luhmann's theorizing about
legal Systems, organizations and other social Systems. According to Luhmann, the
legal system 'consists of communication opérations that circularly connect with each
other to produce an operationally closed and cognitively open autopoietic system.76
Typically for an autopoietic system is that it is multifunctional, and for the legal system
it is possible to define other functions than that of commanding behavior in Austin's
terminology. If a similar view is applied to the system of accounting ethical norms, the
norms may be understood as expectations that facilítate communication of meanings
that are stabilized through social processes. The expectations enable accounting Pro
fessionals to communicate with their colleagues and clients in a predictable manner
and by referring to accounting ethics it is possible to make décisions about accounting
issues with a common frame of reference. Although complex in itself, accounting ethics
exclude many forms of accounting as unacceptable, and therefore reduces complexity.
Ethics focuses the attention of all parties so that communication about a matter can
flow more effectively and efficiently.
The application of a communications perspective on accounting ethics makes it
meaningful to discuss accounting ethical norms as communication opportunities. The
system of norms provides a horizon of meaning that is activated for communicating
parties when the system is referred to. If the accountant suggests that there are ethical
aspects of an accounting position the client company's management may either reject
this idea altogether or adopt an ethical view as well. If the latter happens, both discus
sants are governed by or constrained to the communications that can be regarded as
ethically acceptable views of the situation.
However, the purpose of the current article is not to discuss the options chosen
by accountants and clients or otherwise the pragmatic aspects of décision making
in accounting, but to show how the introduction of a more radical view of the social
dimension of ethical application can help to question implicit assumptions on which
accounting ethics research has been built. The first assumption identified in the pré
sent research was that accounting ethics research has the purpose to reveal how
the behavior of an accountant or auditor is controlled by ethical norms. There is an
apparent préoccupation with accounting Professionals as referents of ethical norms
in the sense that they are treated as if they were the final consumers or targets of the
norms. It is clear though that this way of reasoning can be questioned even before the
application of Luhmann's perspective, because ethical décision making by an account
ing professional cannot take place in a social vacuum. On the contrary, a professional
is dépendent on his/her ability to develop consensus with clients and colleagues, or
at least to appear as reasonable to them. Ethics is more open for interprétation than
law, which is why an accounting professional should estímate that persons in his/her

76 N. Luhmann Das Recht der Gesellschaft, 1995

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Application of Moral Norms in Accounting as Communication 113

environment may interpret ethical norms differently from him/herself. It is o

portance for the professional therefore to take other persons' reactions in
when choosing accounting ethical Standpoint about a concrete situation. For
ethics research this need can be considered either by including the whole n
relevant persons in the study of how ethical behavior is controiled, or by inc
accounting professional's perceptions of other person's receptivity for his/h
argumentation in the study of how ethical rules affect accounting. The curr
is restricted to the second alternative.
The introduction of the communicative aspect of accounting ethics leads not to a
rejection of the idea of an objective system of norms, but to an understanding of how
subjective information processing relevant for accounting ethics occurs. The peer influ
ence on ethical judgment and motivation is a well known theme in accounting ethics
research, which is why it can be argued that the social environment is a factor that
would likely be considered by a professional when a décision to employ an ethical per
spective is made. Furthermore, nearly ail research in this area has built on Kohlberg's
cognitive moral development paradigm which defines the ability to understand moral
argumentation as a key factor for the propensity to behave in accordance with moral
norms. The cognitive moral capacity must be possessed not only by accounting Pro
fessionals, but also by persons in the environment with whom the professional com
municates about accounting issues. The introduction of the social dimension therefore
leads to the considération that no ethical standpoint can be effectively communicated
if the environment is not at least as able to understand ethical arguments as is the
professional him/herself. Thus the cognitive moral capacity of the environment must
be compatible with that of the professional. The présent paper does not suggest that
the professional has any knowledge of the moral development of persons in the en
vironment. However, a simplified and summarized judgment of ail issues bearing on
the prospects of successfully communicate an ethical accounting issue is composed
by the moral self-efficacy perception made by the professional as he/she makes a
décision about whether to apply an ethical point of view or not. The moral self-efficacy
perception is an estímate of the individual's ability to communicate a moral point of view
so that the environment understands it and accepts it. The estímate includes both the
subjective ability of the individual and the receptivity of the environment.
When the communication aspect of accounting ethics is considered it is apparent
that the first assumption referred to above can be rejected, because there are several
persons that must be included in the target population of the ethical norms. The adop
tion of a multifunctional perspective on Systems of norms leads also to a modification
of the second assumption, that accounting ethical norms are behavioral directives. As
noted, accounting ethics can be considered as effective whenever it is affecting the
motivation of individuáis who take part in décisions about a company's accounting,
but primarily accounting Professionals because of their key role. Even when the final
décision of a Company would be to deviate from the accounting suggested by an ethi
cal norm, the arguments in support of the ethical norm may have lead to acceptance
of an accounting position that is more ethical than other competing alternatives. The
use of accounting ethics in communication about accounting appears to be the most
fundamental sign of effective ethical norms.
The third assumption discussed in this article was not rejected or modified. it may
be suggested, though, that the subjective element of ethical application in accounting
is présent whenever the social dimension that is typical for accounting is not neglected.
An accounting professional would only selectively address accounting ethical norms in
any situation. Those ethical norms that the professional does not believe him/herself

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114 Jan Svanberg

capable to successfu
applied and thus re
as a self-efficacy co
ail stages of Rest's
perceives the situati
intensity of the sit
perceive the moral in
tion. An expansion
intensity may be t

Author's address: Jan S

viksvägen 124,16776 B

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