A gendered discourse on truthful disclosure of financial fraud practices among accountants in China: implications to corporate governance

Abstract

Purpose With the worsening of corporate fraud and consequential loss, the growing importance of truthful disclosure is globally advocated. This study aims to examine corporate governance’s role in accountants’ intention to disclose fraudulent practices honestly. At the same time, this study examines intergender differences concerning the formation of the disclosure intention. Design/methodology/approach Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), data from 256 accountants working in China have been collected via an online survey. This data is subsequently analyzed with the partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling method. Findings The results revealed that integrity and corporate governance significantly positively affect employees’ attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control toward disclosure intention. At the same time, it shows that only subjective norm and perceived behavioral control established a significant positive relationship with disclosure intention. It also shows that males display higher attitudes and perceived behavioral control in developing the intention. Originality/value This study helps understand accountants’ disclosure intention of fraud practices, especially during shock events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to extend the TPB incorporating corporate governance and integrity as antecedents to disclosure intention. At the same time, this study contributes to the existing literature by being the first attempt to investigate intergender differences. Finally, it advances the body of knowledge on employees’ behavior and contributes methodologically by introducing the PLS approach.