Beyond the Numeric: How the Accountant’s Role, Moral Justification, and Cognitive Flexibility Form Manipulation, Moderated by Competence, Insights from Emerging-Economies

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18014468

Abstract

Purpose: The present study examines how the accountant’s role in management, moral justification, and cognitive flexibility influences their commitment towards accounting manipulation, with technical competence acting as a moderating aspect.   

Design/methodology/approach: The study applied a quantitative form survey of professional accountants, scrutinized through structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized relationships and moderating impacts.

Findings: The results recommend that accounting manipulation is primarily driven by the accountant’s role in management, moral justification, and cognitive flexibility, while technical competence can either strengthen or weaken these propensities, reliant on the principled framework.

Practical implications: This study contributes to the literature of behavioral accounting by highlighting the vibrant connection between moral cognition, cognitive adaptability, and proficient abilities. It also emphasizes the need for ethical education, effective regulatory oversight, and the promotion of veracity-based professional competence, predominantly within emerging markets.

Originality/value: The present research is unique in incorporating the accountant’s role, moral justification, cognitive flexibility, and technical competence to scrutinize manipulative behavior within feeble institutional settings. It matures the concept of manipulation, observing how technical competence can both permit and limit manipulative behaviors in emerging economies.

Keywords: Management Controllers, Accounting Manipulations, Technical Competence