Thursday, 11 March 2021

2021 KBS Spring Seminar Series

  • Tuesday 9th March at 1:00 pm

Seminar by Prof Sheila Killian, Dr Veronica O’Regan and Prof Philip O‘Regan of the Accountability Research Cluster. The seminar format is informal and interactive facilitating discussion and Q&A and will take place on MS Teams Click here to join the meeting The title and abstract are below:

Ethical and Spiritual Values in Tax Work -  Sheila Killian, Veronica O’Regan and Philip O’Regan.

Abstract: As professionals, accountants hold a public interest mandate, and ethics forms a significant element of professional training. However, individual professionals, particularly in tax, commonly see their work as more technical  than relating to the common good. Amid rising public concern about tax avoidance, there is particular concern with how ethical values are brought to bear on tax work and, the role of personal and organisational values merits attention.  This study draws on a survey and a set of semi-structured interviews  to explore the balance between the personal ethical and spiritual values that individuals bring to their tax work, and the ethical framing of their organisation.  The approach is direct, capturing self-reported moral awareness experienced at the level of the individual tax professional. Our work is framed by concepts of ethical fading (Tenbrunsel & Messick, 2004) and ethical awareness as a base level of ethical action (Rest, 1986).

We find, inter alia, that spiritual values are understood as personal and are most influential in smaller, more nationally-focused firms and among those still undertaking professional exams, while ethical fading is pervasive among early career professionals in large international firms.  Socialisation within the firm adds to the potential for the early-career stage to set the tone for career-long ethical framing. This heightens the responsibility of firms as well as professional bodies to valorise moral judgement. This work contributes to our understanding of how values impact in a highly technical arena, and  raises questions about ethical formation in a professional context.