Cultural values and cognitive moral development of accounting ethics: A cross-cultural study

Taking accounting students in the US and Taiwan as research subjects, the relationship between cultural values and cognitive moral development was explored. The accounting-specific Defining Issues Test (Thorne, 2000) was used to assess participants’ cognitive moral development, and the Values Survey Module (VSM 94; Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation) was used to determine participants’ cultural values. Research results indicate significant differences in cognitive moral development between the US and Taiwanese accounting students. To some extent, cultural values had a significant influence on students’ moral development of ethics within accounting.