Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- If an accounting firm wants to maintain a strong 1xbet best casino website environment from top to bottom, a new study by a Kansas State University accounting professor and her colleagues finds it's important that the firm's environment is viewed the same from bottom to top.

Further, the study also finds that even those in leadership positions may benefit from mentoring.

"The Influence of Roles and Organizational Fit on Accounting Professionals' Perceptions of Their Firms' 1xbet best casino website Environment" will be published in the Journal of Business Ethics' special issue on accounting ethics and tone at the top. It is co-authored by Kansas State University's Amy Hageman, assistant professor of 1xbet best casino website ; Donna Bobek, University of Central Florida; and Robin Radtke, Clemson University.

Their paper is one of the first research studies to empirically test potential reasons why firm leaders and non-leaders -- or professional staff -- can have contrasting perspectives of the firm's 1xbet best casino website environment. They tested their research using a questionnaire that was completed by 139 accounting professionals employed at certified public accounting firms.

In previous studies, Hageman and her fellow researchers demonstrated that leaders and non-leaders at public accounting firms have different perceptions of their firms. They found that while most accounting professionals perceive the 1xbet best casino website environment of their firm as quite strong, the firms' leaders -- partners, principals and directors -- perceive the 1xbet best casino website environment as even stronger than the other staffers.

The major finding in their most recent study was why this difference arises, Hageman said.

"We found that when non-leader accounting professionals believe they participate in shaping and maintaining the 1xbet best casino website environment and/or have a strong organizational fit with the accounting firm, they are more likely to view the 1xbet best casino website environment as strong and to view it similarly to firm leaders," she said.

Because non-leader 1xbet best casino website professionals would include recent college graduates, Hageman said the research shows the importance of students taking business ethics courses, which Kansas State University's College of Business Administration offers.

"If ethics education were absent from the college curriculum, it could severely impact the ability of these non-leaders to be aware of the importance of ethics in accounting and business," Hageman said. "We believe that it is critical for soon-to-be-graduates who are weighing various job options to carefully consider firm leadership and their perceptions of the overall 1xbet best casino website environment and culture of the firm, as 'tone at the top' has been shown to be a critical factor in firms' 1xbet best casino website attitudes."

Hageman said other studies by the research team have found that a firm's 1xbet best casino website environment has an important influence on 1xbet best casino website decision-making. Thus, the same person placed in a different environment may make a very different decision based on his or her perceptions of what constitutes 1xbet best casino website behavior within the organization.

"It is very important for anyone thinking of joining an organization to make sure that it has strong 1xbet best casino website values and the leadership within the firm acts ethically and supports organization efforts to encourage 1xbet best casino website behavior," she said.

The study also produced a surprising result: it's important for firm leaders to receiving mentoring.

While firm leaders were much less likely to have received formal or informal mentoring in the previous year, Hageman said having received such mentoring was related to how leaders perceived their firms' 1xbet best casino website environment.

"On the other hand, non-leaders were more likely to have received mentoring, but it was not related to their perceptions of the firm's 1xbet best casino website environment," she said. "This emphasizes the importance of firm leaders continuing to receive mentoring throughout their career. We may not think of someone who is a leader in an organization as needing a mentor, but our results showed that leaders who continued to receive such support had a more positive view of the firm's 1xbet best casino website environment."

The study is part of a stream of research that Hageman, Bobek and Radtke are undertaking on 1xbet best casino website decision-making of accounting professionals and the importance of the firm's 1xbet best casino website environment. They are currently investigating the link between job attitudes and a firm's 1xbet best casino website environment; the difference in 1xbet best casino website environment perceptions of auditors/tax professionals and accountants who work in industry versus in public accounting firms; and how professional role, decision context and gender can influence the 1xbet best casino website decision making of public accounting professionals.

Hageman's research was supported by a College of Business Administration summer research grant. Hageman joined Kansas State University in 2010 and received the College of Business Administration's Kansas State Bank Teaching Excellence Award in 2013.