Accounting manipulation issue is a topic which will never disappear from business and accounting field. In fact, it continues to increase in terms of quantity and quality. Several big scandals in economy and financial sectors often involved accounting profession. Some of the involvement of accountants in an accounting manipulation scandal is caused by the pressure from their superiors.
Subordinates’ response toward their superiors’ command to perform accounting manipulation had encouraged Mahmudi to write a dissertation entitled Independence Influence, Responsibility of Result, and Moral Identity toward Subordinate’s Reactance due to Pressure to Perform Accounting Manipulation: Theory of Compliance Testing. This dissertation had been defended in front of the examiners on Monday (29/1) at Faculty of Economics and Business UGM.
The result of his research showed the level of independence and the determination of responsibility of result significantly influenced the subordinate’s reactance (rejection) toward the superior’s command to perform accounting manipulation. Mahmudi said the subordinate who has a higher independence level will be braver to refuse their superior’s command to perform accounting manipulation than those who have a lower independence level.
“Subordinate also will be braver to refuse their superior’s command to perform accounting manipulation if the responsibility of the action’s result will be imposed on the subordinate than if it is imposed on the superior,” said Mahmudi.
Mahmudi further said the moral identity strengthens the influence of the responsibility of result toward the superior’s command to perform accounting manipulation. According to Mahmudi, the result of his research can be utilized by management board in making organizational policy regarding the efforts to prevent ethics violation because of the superior’s demand of the subordinate, including accounting manipulation.
“Based on this research, the management board needs to make a system which can strengthen personal independence and responsibility, thus subordinates will be brave to refuse their superior’s command which violates the ethics,” he added.