Ethical Considerations in Accounting: Research Proposal Analysis

This accounting research proposal investigates the significance of ethical frameworks in financial reporting within the Australian business context. The research explores the ethical issues present in accounting and how organizations can address them, focusing on the benefits and limitations of ethical frameworks and the steps businesses take to ensure ethical practices. The proposal includes a detailed research background, problem statement with primary and secondary research questions, and specific research objectives. It outlines keywords for literature review, data collection plans (including both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods), and addresses ethical considerations like unbiased respondent selection, informed consent, and data confidentiality. The research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of ethical considerations in accounting and financial reporting within the Australian business environment, offering insights into best practices and potential improvements. The study intends to collect primary data through surveys and interviews to maintain research authenticity and quality.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION IN
ACCOUNTING
Ethical Consideration in Accounting
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION IN ACCOUNTING
Table of Contents
1. Research Background.............................................................................................................2
2. Research Problem...................................................................................................................2
2.1 Primary Research Question..............................................................................................2
2.2 Secondary Research Questions........................................................................................2
3. Research Objective.................................................................................................................3
4. Keywords for Literature Review............................................................................................3
5. Main articles of Literature Review: Publication Details........................................................3
6. Data Collection Plan..............................................................................................................3
7. Ethical Considerations...........................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION IN ACCOUNTING
Importance of Ethics in Accounting in Australian Commercial Framework
1. Research Background
In the contemporary global commercial and business scenario, with increased
integration and interconnection of businesses in different industries across the globe, owing
to factors like Globalisation, trade liberalisation and technological as well as infrastructural
innovation, one of the primary aspects contributing to the profitability, prosperity as well as
sustainability of the operations of businesses is that of the presence of the robust accounting
framework within the organizations (Bull, 2014. The term “accounting”, in business, refers to
identification, measurement, recording as well as classification of crucial financial
information of the business organizations.
However, in the recent periods, various financial reporting and accounting scandals
have come in the forefront, in the global commercial scenario, which not only affected the
concerned businesses but also had considerable negative implications on the direct and
indirect stakeholders as well as the economies in general, thereby highlighting the need for
the presence of an ethical framework for accounting in accounting (Agrawal and Cooper,
2015). However, in the contemporary corporate and business accounting and financial
reporting scenario, several crucial ethical issues arise in the general framework, which the
companies have to deal with in their path of decision-making and other operations.
2. Research Problem
The contemporary business scenarios, in general face several crucial ethical dilemmas
in the aspects of accounting the financial reporting operations, which can be seen to be
having considerable impacts on their operational framework, performances, reputation as
well as the welfare of the people linked to the same. The primary ethical dilemmas which
arise in this aspect, are that of conflicts of interests, predicaments with the level of
confidentiality of the clients, the impacts of financial reporting and others (Thomas, 2012).
Keeping this into consideration, the primary research question for the concerned study is as
follows:
2.1 Primary Research Question
How important is the presence of ethical framework in accounting aspects of Australian
business scenario?
2.2 Secondary Research Questions
Based on the primary research question, as stated above, the secondary questions which the
concerned research aims to explore are as follows:
a. What are the ethical issues which are found to be present in the accounting aspects of
Australian business scenario?
b. What are the ways in which these issues can be solved?
c. What are the benefits and limitations of having an ethical framework in the aspects of
accounting and financial reporting?
d. What are the steps taken by the organizations in general, in commercial framework of
Australia, to ensure the presence of an ethical framework in the aspects of accounting and
financial reporting?

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION IN ACCOUNTING
3. Research Objective
The concerned research proposes to explore the importance of the presence of an
ethical framework in accounting and financial reporting aspects, thereby trying to explore the
ethical issues which are generally present in the same and how they can be solved by the
organizations, especially in the commercial and economic domain of Australia (Warren,
Reeve and Duchac, 2013). The proposed research also tries to analyse the pros and cons of
different steps taken by the businesses in the commercial domain of Australia as well as the
government of the country, in order to ensure implementation of ethical framework in their
accounting and financial reporting aspects.
4. Keywords for Literature Review
Keywords: Accounting, financial accounting, financial reporting, business accounting, ethical
issues in accounting, ethical dilemmas in Australian accounting scenario, accounting ethics in
organizations, importance of ethical considerations in accounting
5. Main articles of Literature Review: Publication Details
Horomnea, E. and Pascu, A.M., 2012. Ethical and Morality in Accounting Epistemological
Approach. Journal of Eastern Europe Research in Business & Economics, 2012, p.1.
Jennings, P. and Marriott, N., Ethics in Accounting.
Miller, P. and Power, M., 2013. Accounting, organizing, and economizing: Connecting
accounting research and organization theory. The Academy of Management Annals, 7(1),
pp.557-605.
Tweedie, D., Dyball, M.C., Hazelton, J. and Wright, S., 2013. Teaching global ethical
standards: A case and strategy for broadening the accounting ethics curriculum. Journal of
Business ethics, 115(1), pp.1-15.
6. Data Collection Plan
For the purpose of carrying out the study, the concerned research proposes to collect
primary data. This is because usage of secondary data, in spite of being time-efficient and
less costly option, however, has the problem of authenticity and intended or unintended
biases and errors, which can have negative implications in influencing the results of the
analysis, thereby making the concerned less productive and robust (Walliman, 2017).
Working with primary data, on the other hand, in spite of being costlier and time-taking to
collect, helps in maintaining the authenticity of the research, thereby contributing to the
overall research quality and relevance.
The study intends to collect both quantitative data as well as qualitative data from the
selected samples of relevant individuals in the business and accounting framework of
Australia, keeping into consideration, the significance of both the numerical data (showing
the positive or negative cardinal perceptions) as well as that of the ordinal data (capturing the
abstract aspects present in the concerned domain which cannot be taken into consideration by
the quantitative or numerical data) (Neuman, 2013). For the collection of quantitative data,
the research proposes to use survey questionnaires with close ended questions, where the
participants can choose from answer options or can rank in Likert Scale (between 1 to 5). On

4RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION IN ACCOUNTING
the other hand, for the purpose of collecting qualitative data, the research proposes to conduct
in-depth interviews with the relevant personnel, with the aim to capture the abstract and
ordinal aspects present in the domain of ethical issues in accounting (Bryman, 2017).
7. Ethical Considerations
For a research to be robust and of superior quality, it is of immense importance to
abide by the ethical norms present in the domain of research. Keeping the importance of
ethics in consideration into consideration, the concerned research proposes to follow the
following ethical norms:
 The respondents will be selected unbiasedly by the process of random sampling.
 The interviews will be conducted only after receiving written consent from the
participants.
 The information collected will be used for the purpose of research only.
 Confidentiality and anonymity of the participants will be maintained in order to
respect their dignity, integrity and individuality (Kono, 2012).
 The statistical and other results of analysis will be unbiasedly interpreted to maintain
the truthfulness of the research.
 Permission of the ethical body of the esteemed institution will be sought for before
carrying out the different research activities.

5RESEARCH PROPOSAL: ETHICAL CONSIDERATION IN ACCOUNTING
References
Agrawal, A. and Cooper, T., 2015. Insider trading before accounting scandals. Journal of
Corporate Finance, 34, pp.169-190.
Bryman, A., 2017. Quantitative and qualitative research: further reflections on their
integration. In Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research (pp. 57-78). Routledge.
Bull, R.J., 2014. Accounting in business. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Kono, N., 2012. Ethics in research. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.
Neuman, W.L., 2013. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Pearson education.
Thomas, S., 2012. Ethics and accounting education. Issues in Accounting Education, 27(2),
pp.399-418.
Walliman, N., 2017. Research methods: The basics. Routledge.
Warren, C., Reeve, J.M. and Duchac, J., 2013. Financial & managerial accounting. Cengage
Learning.