The Role of Culture and Accounting Education in Resolving Ethical Business Dilemmas by Chinese and Canadians

This paper examines the roles that culture and accounting education play in helping to resolve ethical dilemmas in business. Using a sample of Chinese and Canadian business students, the results show that the Chinese are more willing to sanction a variety of businesses and accounting policy choice decisions that the Canadians consider to be inappropriate and unethical. Furthermore, accounting students are better able to resolve accounting and business dilemmas regardless of their cultural background. Finally, this study finds that the social desirability bias, to present oneself as more ethical than is actually the case, is a cross‐cultural phenomenon.