Following the collapse of Arthur Andersen in the Enron debacle, whistle-blowing
within audit firms has taken on greater importance. Given the profession's requirements
to be confidential, independent and to act in the public's interest, there is a need for a model that addresses auditors' whistle-blowing intentions. This thesis presents a
conceptual model on whistle-blowing intentions among external auditors, where
individual-led antecedents influence whistle-blowing intentions, but are moderated by
isomorphic and issue-specific factors.
Survey questionnaires were administered to 226 external auditors, and 18
individual interviews as well as 2 focus groups were conducted in Barbados. Results
indicated that individual antecedents (attitudes, perceived behavioural control,
independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting, and personal cost of
reporting) were significantly related to internal whistle-blowing, but only perceived
behavioural control was significantly related to external whistle-blowing. Partial
support was found for the moderating effects of perceived organizational support,
moral intensity, team norms and group cohesion on the relationships between the
majority of the independent variables (attitudes, perceived behavioural control,
independence commitment, personal responsibility for reporting and personal cost of
reporting) and internal whistle-blowing. However, partial support was found for the
moderating effects of perceived organizational support, moral intensity, team norms
iii
and group cohesion on the relationships between fewer independent variables and
external whistle-blowing.
Overall, respondents preferred anonymous internal channels of reporting, and
showed a general reluctance to report externally. The presence of an open-door policy,
ethics partners, hotline, on-going training and clearly defined policies could encourage
whistle-blowing. Further implications for research and practice are discussed. / University of the West Indies
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/5325 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Alleyne, Philmore A. |
| Contributors | Hudaib, Mohammad, Pike, Richard H. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, School of Management |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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