2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

THE ACCOUNTANTS ETHICAL CODE OF CONDUCT FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE: CASE IN YEMEN
Al-Hasan Al-Aidaros (alhasanuum@gmail.com) PhD Student in Accounting College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia Kamil Md. Idris (kamil@uum.edu.my) Associate Professor College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia Faridahwati Mohd. Shamsudin (faridah@uum.edu.my) Senior Lecturer College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia

ABSTRACT An ethical code of conduct is developed to guide behaviors of members in or of organizations. Accountants, in this context, are not an exception. The availability of such ethical code of conduct is extremely important for both accountants and users of accounting information. However, currently in Yemen, there is no ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants. Hence, a study was conducted to develop an ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants from an Islamic perspective, given that Yemen is an Islamic country. In particular, the study sought to address the question of what constitutes the ethical code of conduct among Yemeni professional accountants. To address the question, data were collected from 386 users of accounting information in four main cities of Yemen i.e. Sanaa, Hadhramout, Taiz, and Aden. The participants were asked to indicate their expectations about what should be included in the ethical code conduct for Yemeni professional accountants. The study employed interdependency analysis, specifically exploratory factor analysis, to reveal the domains of ethical code of conduct. Results show that the ethical code of conduct consists of seven constructs, i.e. acting responsibly, honoring the public trust, acting with integrity, maintaining objectivity and independence, exercising due care, following the limits of scope and nature of services, and complying with Islamic principles. The findings could be used by policy makers to develop an ethical code of conduct for Yemeni accountants to assist them with their professional work. In addition, recommendations for future research and the limitations of the study are highlighted. Keywords: Ethical code of conduct, Professional accountants, Islamic perspective, Yemen Paper type: Research paper

1428

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

INTRODUCTION Researchers found that accountants operate within a world of change in which corporate collapses, business impropriety, regulatory failure and environmental disasters are prevalent. It is said that the professional accountants were partly responsible in the collapse of several companies in the world such as Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing in the United States, Parmalat in Italy, One-Tel in Australia, Almanakhah Market in Kuwait, and the Yemeni National Commercial Bank in Yemen, because their role is to detect mistakes, frauds and to make sure that financial information, i.e. balance sheet and income statement, are prepared according to accounting and moral/ethical standards (Martin, 2007). It can be argued that accountants need to have a thorough appreciation of the potential implications of professional and management decisions, and an awareness of the pressures in observing and upholding ethical standards, which may confront individuals involved in a decision making process (Ahadiat, 1993; Burks, 2006; Mohammed, 2008). In this respect, professional accountants have responsibility to protect stakeholders by presenting fair and independent opinions about financial statements, because if they do not do so, stakeholders may not be able to derive at a valid conclusion and hence make a correct decision. As the name suggests, an ethical code of conduct is defined by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) as: principles, values, standards, or rules of behavior that guide the decisions, procedures and systems of an organization in a way that (a) contributes to the welfare of its key stakeholders, and (b) respects the rights of all constituents affected by its operations (IFAC, 2007). An ethical code of conduct is important because stakeholders expect professional accountants to comply with it (Delaney, 2005). Ziegenfuss and Singhapakdi (1994) found that the ethical code of conduct influences professional accountants because they believe it guides their work. The ethical code of conduct is also said to have more effect on professional accountants than personal moral philosophies (Delaney, 2005). Professional accountants, like other professionals, need to comply with the ethical code of conduct because non-compliance results in penalties (England, 1998). So, the ethical code of conduct is an effective tool that can increase public trust in the financial reports prepared by professional accountants (England, 1998). Whilst the main objective of the ethical code of conduct is to uphold the integrity of accounting profession, it benefits stakeholders as well. Users of accounting information can make decisions by using financial reports that are reliable, and professional accountants can use it as a guide to help them in their work (Street, 2002). Because of its significance in guiding behaviors, an ethical code of conduct for professional accountants in Yemen can contribute toward improving the economic situation of the country. But no such ethical code of conduct for Yemeni accountants exists (Bamashmos, 2003). Because Yemen is a Muslim country governed by Islamic Shariah laws, professional accountants here are presumed to have good ethical conducts. However, to what extent this claim is valid and holds true is subject to a scientific investigation. And this is what the present study intends to achieve. In particular, this study attempts to reveal what should constitute the ethical code of conduct among Yemeni professional accountants from an Islamic perspective. PROBLEM STATEMENT Accountants behavior affects the public through the preparation of financial reports. Users of financial report, especially decision makers, expect professional accountants to be highly competent, reliable, and objective. Those who work in the field of accounting must not only be well qualified but must also possess a high degree of professional integrity (Burks, 2006; Mohammed, 2008). Therefore, accountants ethics are very important because the main role of accountants is to provide useful information to users (Rahman, 2003). At present there is no ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants in Yemen (Al-Ariqi, 2007; Alshami, 2009). The absence of this code allows accountants to interpret what constitute ethics according to their own personal interests or values (Mohammed, 2008). It has been said that Yemeni accountants accept bribes (Hasan, 2010), do not act responsibly to users of accounting information (Baahroon, 2010), are careless about public interest 1429

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

(Zaid, 2010), work in collaboration with others (Baantar, 2010), and sometimes do not follow Islamic principles (Ali, 2010; Mohammed, 2010). As a result, reports produced by Yemeni accountants may be defected and unreliable. Because there is no ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants (Alshami, 2010), Yemeni government cannot force accountants to follow any specific behaviors. Users of accounting information, i.e. investors, managers, members of board of directors, members of Yemeni accountants association, and legislators and senior officials in Yemeni government believe that an ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional is imperative (Alkebsi, 2010; Alshami, 2010). This is because they will not be able to make a right and good decision without reliable, accurate, and trusted accounting information (Alaidaros, 2010; Ibrahim, 2010; Mustafa, 2010). Besides, the users feel that they have no legal recourse for mistakes done by accountants because there is no ethical code of conduct that specifies penalties for any wrongdoing (Bageneed, 2010; Bendool, 2010). The Yemeni government is trying to meet several conditions and terms of Arab Gulf countries in order to enter the Gulf union (YACPA, 2010). Making an ethical code of conduct for professional accountants available is one of the terms that need to be met (Alkebsi, 2010; Alshami, 2010). Given these contexts, it is necessary to know what constitutes ethics under the Islamic environment like Yemen. This study will develop accountants ethical code of conduct for the benefit of users of financial reports. PREVIOUS STUDIES ON THE ETHICAL CODE OF CONDUCT An ethical code of conduct can be understood in different ways. An ethical code of conduct is seen as a social agreement between the public and accountants. The accountants ethical code of conduct is established to influence positively users of accounting information, i.e. investors, employees, lenders, suppliers, customers, government, and management (Payne & Landry, 2005). Therefore, in this perspective, accountants have responsibility to perform with the highest level of integrity and objectivity (Bay, 1997). Alternatively, the ethical code of conduct is a means for the accounting profession to regulate its own members and the code is thus viewed as the accountants way of selfprotection (Parker, 1994). In addition, the ethical code of conduct is seen as a required component of accountants job (Bay, 1997). Finally, the ethical code of conduct is viewed as an accountants attempt to offer for them guiding principles to assist them in formulating correct choices in complex circumstances (Brecht, 1991). The first major code for the accounting profession is the ethical code of conduct established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (Abo-ahmeed, 2006; Brown, 1999; Brown et al., 2007; Duska & Duska, 2003; Mele, 2005; SOCPA, 2009; Venezia, 2005). Several countries such as Taiwan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, have developed their own codes by using the AICPA code as a prototype. In line with this development, the present study used the AICPA code as a basis for organizing thoughts as well as developing accountants ethical code of conduct from an Islamic perspective in Yemen. The AICPA ethical code of conduct consists of six principles. These are explained and discussed below: Acting responsibly means accountants, in carrying out their responsibilities as professionals, should exercise sensitive professional and moral judgments in all their activities (AICPA, 2009). From an Islamic perspective, however, the strength of mind of what is useful and what is harmful cannot be left to human being reasoning alone. Human beings reasoning should be exercised within the Islamic framework (Al-Qaradawi, 1985). This means that Islam recognizes the role of reason in theorizing morality and ethics only in a manner that confirms human existence. The reason for that is because the natural limitations of human beings posit a strong reason for Divine direction particularly in determining what is right and what is wrong. According to Al-Qaradawi (1985), the rational faculties can and should only be used to match and strengthen ethics and morality defined by Islamic 1430

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Shari`ah. Within an Islamic framework, responsibilities can be divided into three groups. First is responsibility towards God, who created human beings and provided them with resources for their livelihoods. Second is responsibility towards themselves. Third is responsibility towards society which involves maintenance of clients rights and goods, and treating everything that belongs to a consumer, his honor, his wealth and his blood, as sacrosanct (Saeed, Ahmed, & Mukhtar, 2001). In this context, an accountant must uphold all responsibilities towards God, him/herself, and society. Allah (s.w.t) said: Then shall anyone who has done an atoms weight of good, see it. And anyone who has done an atoms weight of evil, shall see it (al-Quran, 99:7/8). Honoring the public trust is means accountants should accept the obligation to act in a way that will serve the public interest, honor the public trust, and demonstrate commitment to professionalism (AICPA, 2009). Islam agrees with the principle of public interest and considers it more important than an individual interest (AlQaradawi, 1994). However, a professional accountant must make sure public interests are in line with Islamic Shariah. This is because some societies, according to relativism theory, consider some actions such as bribery as ethical. In Islam, the only one who really has full knowledge about what is right and wrong is Allah (s.w.t). The Quran (58:7) states: Allah has full knowledge of all things. Even if the majority of people in this world agree that taking bribe is acceptable for the public interest, Muslims accountants condemn this act as not being ethical and Islamic. Allah (s.w.t) said: if you follow the common run of those on earth, they will lead you away from the way of Allah; they follow nothing but conjecture (al-Quran, 6:116). Acting with integrity is to maintain and broaden public confidence. Accountants should perform all professional responsibilities with the highest sense of integrity. Islam supports this principle, i.e. integrity, for all professionals and non-professionals (Mohammed, 2005). Moreover, Muslims must behave with integrity by holding Iman (faith), as it is the key that protects and increases a persons integrity (Al-Qaradawi, 1994, 1985; Mawdudi, 1977). In Islam, a person has to behave in accordance to his/her Islamic beliefs as mentioned in the Quran. Maintaining objectivity and independence means that an accountant should be objective in his/her work and be free from conflicts of interest in discharging his/her professional responsibilities. An accountant in public practice should be independent in fact and appearance when providing auditing and other attestation services (AICPA, 2009). Islam also requires that accountants be objective and exercise independence in their opinions without any bias (Mohammed, 2005). Allah (s.w.t) has ordered Muslims to behave fairly with every Muslims and nonMuslims even if the person may hate him/her for doing justice. The Quran said justice is the shortest way to achieve Iman (faith). Be obvious determinedly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and do not let the hate of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to faithfulness (al- Quran, 5:8). Besides, Muslims are requested to verify any information received especially if it may affect the others negatively. Allah (s.w.t) said: If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what you have done (al-Quran, 49:6). In other word, before make any judgment, a professional accountant must make sure that he/she has verified the information as correct and accurate. Exercising due care by means an accountant should observe the professions technical and ethical principles, try hard continually to develop competence and the quality of services, and discharge professional responsibility to the best of the accountants ability (AICPA, 2009). Islam agrees with the general idea of due care principle (Mohammed, 2005). But there are other Islamic issues related to the due care principle that are not mentioned in the AICPA code. Firstly, accountants should perform their duty beyond the expectation of clients because for all Muslim accountants life should be perfect as possible (Al-Qaradawi, 1994). Also, accountants believe that reward in the next life is more important than the reward in this life such as fees or salary. Thus, professional accountants are expected to carry out their work as best as possible not for the sake of salary or fees only. However, that does 1431

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

not mean accountants should be paid lower than what they deserve. Justice must be exercised in determining fees and rules (Mohammed, 2005). In other words, Muslim must emulate the prophet Muhammads way of life in all aspects be they economical, political, or social. Allah (s.w.t) has promised those who make perfect their life with reward in hereafter (al-Quran, 16:30, 10:26). Also, the prophet Muhammad reported that: when any of you perform a work: Allah wants him to do it perfectly (Mohammed, 2005). Following the limits of scope and nature of services means that accountants in public practice should observe the principles of the code of professional conduct in determining the scope and nature of services to be provided (AICPA, 2009). In Islam, the government and the experts are the two groups that are legitimate in identifying the scope and nature of services. With regard to the first group, Allah (s.w.t) has ordered Muslims to obey their leaders. Besides Allah and his prophet Muhammad. The Quran (4:59) said: you who believe: Obey Allah, and obey the messenger, and those charged with authority among you. However, to obtain obedience, the government should practice Islamic principles throughout (al-Quran, 4:59). In regard to the second group, i.e. accounting organization, Allah (s.w.t) said that Muslims consult the experts who have knowledge about the thing that they do not know (al-Quran, 21:7). In general, Islam agrees with this principle, i.e. scope and nature of services, except that the accountants must reject any work if it is against Islamic principles (al-Quran, 5:47). The scope and nature of services must be within the acceptable limits of Islam (al-Quran, 5:44/45). In brief, the code of professional accountants serves a variety of purposes both to professional accountants and society. It is intended to appeal to such diverse interests of customers, the public, the courts, business community, the accounting profession, and the government. These interests will converge and at other times, diverge. Therefore, the code must anticipate the individualistic and pluralistic relationships that exist among any or all of these interests. The above six principles are related to the four philosophies of Western ethical theories: egoism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Western ethical philosophies provide a supplemental theoretical basis for ethical judgment in accounting practices. Although each ethical philosophy alone fails to sufficiently guide accountants in every ethical situation, collectively they provide a menu of principles that accountants can and should consider when facing ethical dilemmas (Burks, 2006; Velasquez, 2006). However, while Islam generally agrees to the principles laid out by the AICPAs ethical code of conduct, the code remains incomplete. HYPOTHESES Ethical code of conduct for professional accountants contains the ethical principles and rules accountants must obey in order to raise the image of the accounting profession in public (IFAC, 2010). In accounting literature, studies refer to accounting ethics as an ethical code of conduct that accountants should have (Velasquez, 2006). Accounting organizations such as AICPA and IFAC have established the ethical codes of conduct for professional accountants. AICPA ethical code of conduct is developed specifically for the USA. But IFAC ethical code of conduct was developed by taking into account different practices of ethical code of conduct in various countries. Generally, the ethical code of conduct of AICPA and IFAC are similar. The only difference is that AICPA ethical code of conduct is broader in scope than the IFAC (Brown, 1999; Brown et al., 2007; Mele, 2005). As a result, AICPA ethical code of conduct is more applicable to be used as a basis for developing an ethical code of conduct for countries that do not have codes yet. Because of its breadth, the researchers used AICPA ethical code of conduct as a basis to develop an Islamic ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants. Although the AICPA ethical code of conduct has been widely used by many countries, it still has room for continuous improvement especially if it is to apply to Muslim countries. As discussed earlier is the code not extensive and comprehensive enough from the Islamic perspective. The main difference is on the basis of identifying what is right and wrong. Islam has a comprehensive point of view (al-Banna, 1940, al-Qaradawi 1996; Yaken, 2006) of ethical issues by taking a full image of all theoretical standards. In addition, 1432

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

justice in Islam is not the only basis to differentiate what is right and wrong. Sabr (patience) is another basis that Islam considers. The Quran said: and if you do catch them out, catch them out no worse than they catch you out: But if you show patience, that is indeed the best (course) for those who are patient (16:126). Another basis is Ihsan (better, i.e. treat people better that how they treat you). The Quran said: Nor can goodness and evil be equal. Repel (evil) with what is better (41:34). However, Islamic principles are not against logical theories even if they are developed by non-Muslim scientists (al-Qaradawi, 1996; Mawdudi, 1977). The six principles above of AICPA are acceptable from the Islamic perspective. Because the study was conducted in a Yemen, it is expected that Yemeni professional accountants will behave according to the six principles. In addition, they are also hypothesized to comply with the Islamic principles, the seventh principle introduced in the new ethical code of conduct. Thus, the first and second hypotheses are as follows: H1: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants is complex variable. H2: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should constitute at least seven constructs. H2a: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Acting responsibly. H2b: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Honoring the public trust. H2c: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Acting with integrity. H2d: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Maintaining objectivity and independence. H2e: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Exercising due care. H2f: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Establishing limits to the scope and nature of services provided. H2g: The ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain Complying with Islamic principles. INSTRUMENTATION To develop an ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants, this study has developed the instrument, (appendix 1), by basing on the instrument of Brown et al. (2007). Brown developed the instrument by using AICPA ethical code of conduct as a basis, and by comparing the two main codes of AICPA and IFAC. He used the AICPA ethical code of conduct because it is broader in scope than the IFAC (Brown, 1999; Mele, 2005). Additional items that reflect the Islamic perspective are included. The instrument of ethical code of conduct deals with seven proposed constructs, i.e. acting responsibly, honoring the public trust, acting with integrity, maintaining objectivity and independence, exercising due care, establishing limits to the scope and nature of services provided, and complying with Islamic principles. Every construct has a number of indictors/variables as shown in Table 1. To make sure participants read each item, one item within every construct is stated in negative form. In other words, specific items are worded negatively to verify if the participants are responding each item separately (Brown, 1999).

1433

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Table 1 Structure of Ethical Code of Conduct Instrument

Section Section one Construct 1 Construct 2 Construct 3 Section two Construct 4 Construct 5 Construct 6 Construct 7 Section three Contents Introduction with instructions Acting Responsibly Honoring the public trust Acting with integrity Maintaining objectivity and independence Exercising due care Establishing limits to the scope and nature of services provided Complying with Islamic principles Demographic questions 12 8 9 16 11 9 9 5
No. of indicators

RESULTS The Response Rate This study used multistage cluster random sampling that involves different groups and different cities (Sekaran, 2003; Zikmund, 2003). The questionnaires were distributed personally by the researchers to 533 users of accounting information in four cities in Yemen, i.e. Sanaa, Hadhramout, Taiz, and Aden. A total of 409 questionnaires were returned and completed, while 124 questionnaires were unanswered. The completed questionnaires represent a valid response rate of 72.4 %. But 23 questionnaires were unusable because some respondents did not answer two or more sections of the survey. Some questionnaires were also discarded because of the same answers given to all the questions by the same subject. For example, some respondents answered strongly agree to all items even though the items were worded negatively. The number of valid questionnaires for data analysis is 386. The number of respondents to the number of items/observed variables is appropriate, i.e. 5:1 (386 respondents to 74 items/observed variables). It can be concluded that the sample size of this study is sufficient for conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010). Table 2 shows the sample profile. The majority of the participants were male (83.7 %), while 16.3 % female. The low percentage of female participants reflects Yemeni culture that sees men as the main breadwinner (Alshami, 2009). In terms of age, the majority of participants was above thirty years old (76.2 %) and had working experience more than five years (66.1 %). Half of the participants, i.e. users of accounting information, were government officers (51 %), while the rest were investors (20.2 %), members of board of directors (15.3 %), members of Yemeni accountant association (7.8 %), and managers (5.7 %). Consistently, half of the participants were working with the government sector (50.3 %), private organization (41.7 %), and the rest (8 %) with non-profit

1434

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

organizations. Finally, the majority of participants were from Sanaa city (69.9 %), while the rest were from Hadhramout (16.8 %), Aden (7.1 %), and Taiz (6.2 %). Table 2 Demographic Profile of the Participants
Variable Male Female Total Less than 30 years 30-39 years 40-50 years More than 50 years Total Less than 5 years 6 - 10 years 11 - 15 years 16 - 20 years More than 20 years Total Investor Manager Member of board of director Member of Yemeni accountant association Government officer Total Private Government Non-profit Total Sanaa Hadhramout Taiz Aden Total Frequency 323 63 386 92 170 86 38 386 131 128 42 23 62 386 78 22 59 30 197 386 161 194 31 386 270 65 24 27 386 Percentages (%) 83.7 16.3 100 23.8 44.1 22.3 9.8 100 33.9 33.1 10.9 6 16.1 100 20.2 5.7 15.3 7.8 51 100 41.7 50.3 8 100 69.9 16.8 6.2 7.1 100

Gender

Age

Experience

Job

Organization

City

Reliability Reliability is the consistency of the measurement or the degree to which an instrument is measured in the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1987). The researchers conducted reliability test to make sure that the items of each construct have high internal consistency. To test reliability, Cronbachs alpha was calculated for each construct. The generally agreed upon lower limit for Cronbachs alpha is 0.70. However, it may decrease to 0.60 in exploratory study (Hair et al., 2010). The Cronbachs alpha reliability results show that the five constructs in this study, i.e. acting responsibly, maintaining objectivity and independence, exercising due care, following the limits of scope and nature of services, and

1435

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

complying with Islamic principles, have reliability coefficients above 0.70, while two constructs, i.e. honoring the public trust, and acting with integrity, have reliability coefficients of 0.68. The reliability coefficients for all constructs are above 0.60, which indicates that the instrument used is acceptable. Table 3 shows the results of reliability test for the constructs used. Due to poor inter-item correlations and in order to increase reliability of the instrument, several items were dropped and excluded from any further analysis (Hair et al., 2010). Table 3 Reliability Analysis Results (N=386)
Variable Before data cleansing No. items Alpha value 0.62 0.66 0.64 After data cleansing No. items Alpha value 0.75 0.68 0.68 7 3 5 No. of items dropped

Acting responsibly Honoring the public trust Acting with integrity Maintaining objectivity and independence

12 8 9

5 5 4

16

0.85

11

0.86

Exercising due care Scope and nature of services Complying with Islamic principles

11 9 9

0.86 0.76 0.76

5 8 4

0.82 0.76 0.82

6 1 5

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Hair et al. (2010) reported that the main function of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is to identify the underlying structure among items in the analysis. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) attempts to discover groupings among items based on relationships represented in a correlation matrix (Cooper & Schindler, 2003; Zikmund, 2003). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a valuable multivariate statistical method for extracting information from large data. When items are interrelated, the researcher wants ways to handle and manage these items, such as, grouping highly connected items together with new components, and naming the components that represent each group of items (Hair et al., 2010). The researchers assumption is that any item within every construct may be connected with other items. In other words, EFA is a tool to better understand the constitution of the data. It points to nice and simple relationships that may not have been understandable from assessment of the raw data alone with information about how many components are required to best represent the data (Hair et al., 2010). According to Hair et al. (2010), one characteristic of exploratory factor analysis is that the components come from statistical results, not from theory. This means that the software used in this study, i.e. SPSS, defines the underlying structure of the data that is based on respondents answers. Accordingly, EFA is conducted without knowing how many components really exist and which items belong to which construct. The components that emerge will be 1436

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

labeled once the analysis is performed. A large number of variables can complicate a study because some items might measure different aspects of the same underlying variable (Hair et al., 2010). Thus, using EFA will help the researchers identify the structure of the Islamic ethical code of conduct. To be acceptable for the EFA, i.e. to make sure that the results of EFA are reliable and valid, the data have to meet several standards. These standards are reliability coefficient, anti-image correlations matrix, communality, KMO, Bartletts test of sphericity, and the cumulative percentages of variance explained. With respect to reliability, a few items have been deleted. Anti-image correlations matrix diagonals are the negative matrix values of partial covariance and correlations among items (Cooper et al., 2003). They reflect the degree to which the factors explain each other. According to the rules of thumb, anti-image correlations matrix diagonals should be above 0.50 and items with values less than 0.50 must be excluded from further analysis, by deleting one item at a time, starting with the lowest value, and then recalculating the anti-image correlations matrix again until all values are above 0.50. In this study, only one item, i.e. item number 8 from the construct honoring the public trust, was deleted and excluded from any further analysis. The data were also checked for items communality. Communality is the estimate of its shared factor loadings among the variables as represented by the components derived from exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (Cooper et al., 2003). Hair et al. (2010) reported that any item that has a communality value of less than 0.50 does not have sufficient explanation and it should be deleted and excluded from any further analysis. The deleting procedure was carried out in the same way as what the researchers did with anti-image correlations matrix, which means that the item with the lowest communality value was deleted first. Then the researchers recalculated the communalities for all other items again until all items have an acceptable level of communality with more than 0.50. The following items are the items that were deleted and excluded from any further analysis from this study: item number 5 from the construct acting responsibly, item number 7 from the construct honoring the public trust, four items (number 6, 1, 2, 3) from the construct acting with integrity, four items (number 9, 8, 4, 3) from the construct maintaining objectivity and independence, six items (number 8, 9, 3, 1, 7, 4) from the construct exercising due care, item number 2 from the construct following the limits of scope and nature of services, and four items (number 6, 1, 9, 8) from the construct complying with Islamic principles. The next test was the Kaiser-Myer-Olkin (KMO) of Sampling Adequacy and Bartletts test of sphericity. They are both indicators for evaluating the appropriateness of applying factor analysis (Cooper et al., 2003; Zikmund, 2003). As shown in Tables 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, all items for each construct are within the acceptable level. Specifically, the KMO measure for most items for each construct is above 0.60, which is acceptable, except for one construct, i.e. honoring the public trust. This measure indicates that high proportion of variance in the items is common variance and causes the structure components to be established effectively (Hair et al., 2010). As for the Bartletts test of sphericity, the results are all significant (p value = 0.000). Tables 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, present the final results of exploratory factor analysis for every construct. The results show that the cumulative percentages of variance explained by the components for each construct are reasonable within the range between 0.59 and 0.80. In general, the results demonstrated that reliability, anti-image correlations matrix, communality, KMO, Bartletts test of sphericity, and the cumulative percentages of variance explained for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), are acceptable to be used as a guide to develop the measurement model that can be examined and confirmed by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

1437

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Hair et al. (2010) reported that only items with factor loadings greater than 0.50 are considered for specifying the measurement model. The results show that all items have factor loading greater than 0.50 which means all items can be used to specify the measurement model. Table 4 shows the results of the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the first construct/principle, i.e. acting responsibly, which has two components. The first component is labeled being responsible toward other auditors and it has three items. The second component represents being responsible toward information and consists of two items. Table 4 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Acting Responsibly
Factor loading Component Item no Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... res8 Being responsible toward other auditors res9 res7 res11 res10 Not to make unconfirmed comparisons with the work of other auditors. Avoid disapproving other auditors to get their work. Not to offer to a client lower audit fees for the purpose of competing with other auditors. Not to be connected with documents that the auditor thinks it includes false information. Not to be associated with reports where the auditor believes it contains misleading statements. 0.84 0.71 0.71 0.90 0.88 2

Being responsible toward information

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.69; Variance = 71%; Approx. Chi-Square = 462.163; df = 10; Sig. = 0.000.

In Table 5 the second construct/principle, i.e. honoring the public trust, shows two components, i.e. providing perfect services and respecting the job of accounting profession. The first component providing perfect services consists of three items, while the second component respecting the job of accounting profession consists of two items.

1438

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Table 5 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Honoring the Public Trust

Factor loading Component Item no Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... pbt3 Providing perfect services pbt2 pbt4 Provide accurate and excellent services beyond what is required by the countrys rules. Offer quality services. Sign the financial report prepared and specify exactly what kind of auditing services that have been performed. Avoid advertising him/herself or his/her services through public media such as TV, radio, electronic websites, and newspapers. Use clients money, held by the auditor, only for auditing work purposes. .84 .75 .72 2

Respecting the job of accounting profession

pbt6 pbt5

0.89 0.81

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.66; Variance % = 73; Approx. Chi-Square = 549.102; df= 10; Sig. = 0.000

The third construct/principle, i.e. acting with integrity, consists of two components, as presented in Table 6. The first component is adhering to professional accounting standards and has two items. The second component is being honest toward board of directors has two items. Table 6 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Acting with Integrity
Factor loading Component Item no Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... Adhering to professional accounting standards intg4 intg5 intg7 intg8 Adhere to technical standards issued by accounting organizations. Adhere to ethical standards issued by accounting organizations. Inform board of directors, in writing, any violation of company rules and regulations from the management. Inform the board of directors all financial transactions that affect the company negatively. 0.90 0.87 0.88 0.87 2

Being honest toward board of directors

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.58; Variance % = 80; Approx. Chi-Square = 372.908; df= 6; Sig. = 0.000

1439

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Table 7 shows the results of the EFA for the fourth construct/principle, i.e. maintaining objectivity and independence. The construct shows three components. The first component named maintaining independence consists of seven items. The second component which represents refusing any unrelated benefits consists of two items. The third component named exhibiting objectivity has two items. Table 7 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Maintaining Objectivity and Independence
Factor loading Component
Item no

Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... 2 3

indp1 3 indp1 2 indp1 6 Maintaining independence indp1 5 indp1 1 indp1 0 indp1 4 Refusing any unrelated benefits indp2 indp1 indp6 indp7

Avoid audit a company in which his/her family is the member of board of director. Avoid audit a company in which his/her family is the owner or one of the shareholders. Not to audit a company in which one of the members of the board of director is a partner of an auditor in other company. Not to audit a company in which the manager is a partner of an auditor in other company. Not to audit a company in which he/she is a member of board of director. Not to audit a company in which he/she is one of the shareholders of the same company. Not to audit a company in which he/she provides accounting services such as preparing balance sheet and income statement. Not to accept any financial benefit from clients but the auditing fees. Not to accept a gift from clients within the auditing services period. Not to accept work when he/she does not have enough knowledge about how to perform the work. Not to change his/her judgment due to pressure from any quarters.

0.85 0.84

0.82

0.80 0.78 0.75

0.69 0.89 0.87 0.77 0.76

Exhibiting objectivity

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.80; Variance % = 69; Approx. Chi-Square = 2130.573; df= 55; Sig. = 0.000

The fifth construct/principle, i.e. exercising due care, results in one component, as shown in Table 8, and has five items. 1440

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Table 8 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Exercising Due Care

Factor loading Component Item no Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... care11 care10 Exercising due care care5 care6 care2 Ensure that services are effectively and sufficiently supervised. Make sure that his/her employees plan and keep track of their work. Deliver services on time. Perform duty beyond clients expectation. Use good skills in performing accounting and auditing work. 0.81 0.79 0.77 0.73 0.71

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.82; Variance % = 59; Approx. Chi-Square = 631.795; df= 10; Sig. = 0.000

Table 9 presents the sixth construct/principle, i.e. following the limits of scope and nature of services provided. The construct consists of three components. The first component is being able to do the work completely and has three items. The second component is charging reasonable fees and has two items. The third component is following experts guidelines and has three items.

1441

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Table 9 Exploratory Factor Analysis for Following the Limits of Scope and Nature of Services
Factor loading Component Item no Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... scp5 Being able to do the work completely scp6 scp7 Reject to audit a company if the accountant does not have adequate experience to audit big companies. Refuse to audit a company if the accountant does not have enough employees to audit big companies. Reject to audit a company if the accountant does not have sufficient knowledge about the companys activities. Charge the client a reasonable auditing fee based on the length of time he/she will take to finish his/her work. Charge the client a reasonable auditing fee based on the volume of work performed. Assess judgment whether a duty is consistent with the professional role of an accountant. Always observe the scope limit and nature of services provided as expected by local regulators. Work with a specific plan that includes the scope of audit work based on the agreement between the auditor and the company. 0.85 0.82 0.74 2 3

scp8 Charging reasonable fees scp9 scp3 Following experts guidelines scp4 scp1

0.84 0.81 0.76 0.72 0.54

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.77; Variance % = 67; Approx. Chi-Square = 758.183; df= 28; Sig. = 0.000

Finally, the seventh construct/principle, i.e. complying with Islamic principles, results in only one component, and has four items, as presented in Table 10.

1442

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Table 10 Exploratory Factor Analysis for complying with Islamic Principles

Factor loading Component Item no Items 1 A professional accountant is expected to... islm4 Complying with Islamic principles islm5 islm3 islm2 Treat his/her colleagues better than how they treat him/her. Treat his/her clients better than how they treat him/her. Hold justice by giving a professional opinion about financial information to Muslim or non-Muslim clients. Demonstrate a good model on how a good accountant should behave according to Islamic ethics. 0.89 0.85 0.75 0.72

Note: Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy = 0.73; Variance % = 66; Approx. Chi-Square = 632.021; df= 6; Sig. = 0.000

As presented in Tables 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, the results show that the ethical code of conduct consists of seven constructs, i.e. acting responsibly, honoring the public trust, acting with integrity, maintaining objectivity and independence, exercising due care, following the limits of scope and nature of services, and complying with Islamic principles, with every construct consisting of one or more components. Thus, hypothesizes H1, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for a Yemeni professional accountant is complex variable, and H2, i.e. the ethical code of conduct constitutes at least seven constructs, are supported. The results of this study show that the construct acting responsibly has two variables. Consequently, the hypothesis H2a, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain acting responsibly, is supported. Consistently, the construct, i.e. honoring the public trust, and the construct, i.e. acting with integrity, contain two variables. Therefore, the hypothesizes H2b, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain honoring the public trust, and H2c, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain acting with integrity, are supported. The constructs, i.e. maintaining objectivity and independence, exercising due care, and complying with Islamic principles, have the same number of variables, i.e. three variables, for every construct. Accordingly, the hypotheses H2d, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain maintaining objectivity and independence, H2e, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain exercising due care, and H2g, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain complying with Islamic principles are all supported. As for the construct of following the limits of scope and nature of services provided, it has four variables. As a result, the hypothesis H2f, i.e. the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants should significantly embody the domain following the limits of scope and nature of services provided, is supported.

1443

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

CONCLUSIONS Based on the above results, the following conclusion is drawn: 1. Under the Islamic environment, additional element i.e. Islamic compliance principle needs to be included in the ethical code of conduct for accountants. This is because country like Yemen is bound by the Shariah Law. The Islamic ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants consists of seven constructs, i.e. acting responsibly, honoring the public trust, acting with integrity, maintaining objectivity and independence, exercising due care, following the limits of scope and nature of services, and complying with Islamic principles. Islamic ethical code of conduct is more applicable than AICPA ethical code of conduct specifically in Muslim countries. 2. The sources of the Islamic ethical code of conduct are the Quran and Sunnah which contain a wide framework for ethical issues. However, most Islamic studies have addressed the issue conceptually rather than empirically. Thus, this study empirically supports the ethical concept that is stipulated in the Quran and Sunnah. However, the results of this study cannot be generalized to other countries because it was conducted only in Yemen and more studies need to be done to verify and confirm the results. 3. In Islam Allah (s.w.t) created this cosmic and He is the only one who knows everything; humans knowledge and ability to understand are limited. Therefore, to understand how things work in this world, people are encouraged to read, study, and understand the Creators catalogs, i.e. the Quran and Sunnah. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCHES This paper has several limitations that need to be documented. First, even though this study has tried to develop an Islamic ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountants, there are certain limitations relating to a relatively small sample that focused only on Yemen. Therefore, the results of this study may not necessarily reflect other Muslim countries and this study only targeted professional accountants in Yemen. To have a bigger and clearer picture about the ethical code of conduct, further research may select two groups of users of accounting information and professional accountants. By comparing opinions between the users of accounting information and professional accountants may produce another picture about the ethical issues in Yemen. As this study was conducted only in Yemen, future studies can be conducted in other countries, i.e. Arab and nonArab countries. Other methods to collect the data such as interviews and observations should be employed in other countries. This study focused on the contents of the ethical code of conduct for Yemeni professional accountant rather than on the factors that may affect it. Thus, it will be interesting to study the factors that affect accountants ethical code of conduct such as gender, age, experience, and organization type. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to thank the management of Universiti Utara Malaysia, for the assistance rendered. We also thank several Professors such as Dr. Abdullah (Lecturer in COB/ UUM/ Malaysia), Dr. Mohammed (Dean of Education College/ Hadhramout University/ Yemen), Dr. Amatassalm (Lecturer in Girls College/ Hadhramout University/ Yemen), Dr. Alshami (lecturer in UST-Sanaa/ Yemen), and Mr. Ameen (President of Yemeni Association for Certified Public Accountants) for the input and feedback on the survey.

1444

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

REFERENCES Al-Quran (the holy Quran) Alaidaros, A. (2010). The importance of ethical code of conduct for decision makers in Yemen. Unpublished manuscript, Yemen, Hadhramout. Abo-ahmeed, W. (2006). The extent of the auditors compliance in Jordan with the ethical codes of professional conduct. Journal of Universtiy of the King Abduallah Abdalaziz, 20(2), 161-207. Ahadiat, N., & Mackie, J. (1993). Ethics education in accounting: An investigation of the importance of ethics as a factor in the recruiting decisions of public accounting firms. Journal of Accounting Education, 11(2), 243-257. AICPA. (2009). Code of ethics for professional accountants. USA: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Retrieved 15-4-2010, from www.aicpa.org Al-Ariqi. (2007). One-on-one with president of the Yemeni association of certified public accountants Ramzi AlAriqi: Companies involved in corruption should be black listed. Yemen Times. Retrieved 15/02/2007, from www.yementimes.com/rss.xml Al-Banna. (1940). Messages group of Imam Hasan al-Banna. (1st edition). Egypt, Alexandria: Darul al-Aaoah Publication. Ali, Z. (2010, July 25). Are workers in Yemen following Islamic principles?. Yemen, Sanaa [Interview]. Alkebsi, I. (2010). The availability of ethical code of conduct for professional accountants in Yemen. (5th edition). Yemen, Sanaa: Yemeni Association of Certified Public Accountants. Al-Qaradawi, Y. (1985). The Iman (faith) and life. (1st edition). Qatar, Doha: Arabia Publication. Retrieved 15/10/2009, from www.daawa-info.net Al-Qaradawi, Y. (1994). The priorities understanding. (1st edition). Retrieved 15/10/2009, from www.fiseb.com Lebanon, Beirut: alRessalh Publication.

Al-Qaradawi, Y. (1996). The general characteristics of Islam. (9th edition). Lebanon, Beirut: alRessalh Publication. Alshami. (2009). The availability of ethical code of conduct for professional accountants in Yemen. Yemen, Sanaa: Yemeni Association for Certified Public Accountants. Alshami, I. (2010). The availability of ethical code of conduct for professional accountants in Yemen. Yemen, Sanaa [Interview]. Baahroon, A. (2010). Accountants ethics in Yemeni Universities. Yemen, Hadhramout [Interview]. Baantar, H. (2010). The ethics of Yemeni professional accountants in reality. Yemen, Hadhramout [Interview].

1445

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Bageneed, O. (2010). The importance of ethical code of conduct for decision makers in Yemen. Yemen, Hadhramout [Interview]. Bamashmos, A. (2003). International auditing standards and the potential application in the Yemen republic. Yemen, Sanaa: The National Center for Information. Bay, D. (1997). Determinants of ethical behavior: An experiment. Ph. D Dissertation, Washington State University. Bendool, A. (2010). The importance of ethical code of conduct for decision makers in Yemen. Yemen, Hadhramout [Interview]. Brecht, H. (1991). Accountants duty to the public for audit negligence: Self-regulation and legal liability. US, Florida: University of Florida. Brown, P. (1999). The AICPA code of professional conduct and exemplification: An empirical investigation of auditor and public perceptions. Ph. D Dissertation, University of Mississippi. Brown, P., Stocks, M., & Wilder, W. (2007). Ethical exemplification and the AICPA code of professional conduct: An empirical investigation of auditor and public perceptions. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(1), 39-71. Burks, B. (2006). The impact of ethics education and religiosity on the cognitive moral development of senior accounting and business students in higher education. Ph. D Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University. Cooper, D., & Schindler, P. (2003). Business research methods. (8th edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. Delaney, J. (2005). The impact of ethics education on the moral reasoning ability of accounting students. Ph. D Dissertation, Ambrose University. Duska, R., & Duska, B. (2003). Accounting ethics. (1st edition). New York: Wiley-Blackwell. England, T. (1998). An exploratory study of gaps in selected Ethics Norms of professional accountants. Ph. D Dissertation, University Microfilms International. Hair, J., Black, W., Babin, B., & Anderson, R. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective. (7th edition). Uper Saddle River, NJ; London: Pearson Education. Hasan, M. (2010). The ethics of Yemeni professional accountants in reality. Yemen, Hadhramout [Interview]. Ibrahim, S. (2010). The importance of ethical code of conduct for decision makers in Yemen. Yemen, Sanaa [Interview]. IFAC. (2007). Code of ethics for professional accountants. USA: International Federation of Accountants. Retrieved 15/12/2007, from www.ifac.org IFAC. (2010). Code of ethics for professional accountants. USA: International Federation of Accountants. Retrieved 15/4/2010, from www.ifac.org 1446

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

Martin, R. (2007). Through the ethics looking glass: Another view of the world of auditors and ethics. Journal of business ethics, 70(1), 5-14. Mawdudi. (1977). Lifes system in Islam. (7th edition). Lebanon, Beirut: alRessalh Publication. Mele, D. (2005). Ethical education in accounting: Integrating rules, values and virtues. Journal of Business Ethics, 57(1), 97-109. Mohammed, A. (2010). The ethics of Yemeni professional accountants in reality. Yemen, Aden [Interview]. Mohammed, A. (2005). The relationship between Islamic rules and accountants ethics. Unpublished manuscript. Alahgaff University. Mohammed, A. (2008). Accountants ethics in Yemen. Master Thesis. Universiti Utara Malaysia. Mustafa, A. (2010). The importance of ethical code of conduct for decision makers in Yemen. Yemen, Aden [Interview]. Nunnally, J., & Bernstein, I. (1987). Psychometric theory. (2nd edition). New York: McGraw-Hill. Parker, L. (1994). Professional accounting body ethics: In search of the private interest. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 19(6), 507-525. Payne, D., & Landry, B. (2005). Similarities in business and IT professional ethics: The need for and development of a comprehensive code of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(1), 73-85. Rahman, A. (2003). Ethics in accounting education: Contribution of the Islamic principle of Maslahah. IIUM Journal of Economics and Management, 11(1), 2. Saeed, M., Ahmed, Z., & Mukhtar, S. (2001). International marketing ethics from an Islamic perspective: A valuemaximization approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 32(2), 127-142. Sekaran, U. (2003). Research methods for business: A skill building approach. (4th edition). New York: John Wiley and Sons. SOCPA. (2009). Code of ethics for professional accountants. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh: Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants Retrieved 15/10/2010, from www.socpa.org Street, B. (2002). A comparative analysis of professional codes of ethics. Ph. D Dissertation, Central Michigan University. Velasquez, M. (2006). Business ethics: Concepts & cases. (6th edition). Uper Saddle River, NJ, London: Person Education International. Venezia, C. (2005). The ethical reasoning abilities of accounting students. The Journal of American Academy of Business, 6(1), 200-207. 1447

2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (2 ICBER 2011) PROCEEDING

nd

nd

YACPA. (2010). The ethical code of conduct for professional accountants for Arab Gulf countries. The Legal Accountant, 6th, 20-26. Yaken. (2006). What is the meaning of my belong to Islam. Lebanon, Beirut: alRessalh Publication. Zaid, A. (2010). The main problems of auditors in Yemen. Yemen, Taiz [Interview]. Ziegenfuss, D., & Singhapakdi, A. (1994). Professional values and the ethical perceptions of internal auditors. Managerial Auditing Journal, 9(1), 34-44. Zikmund William, G. (2003). Business research methods. (7th edition). Drden Press Mason. Thomson SouthWestern.

1448