An International Meeting of the American Accounting Association American Accounting Association 2006 Annual Meeting August 6–9, 2006 Washington, D.C.

Dennis M. Bline
Bryant University

Charles P. Cullinan
Bryant University

Robert Farrar
Bryant University

Abstract: The relationship between ethical climate and organizational commitment has been examined among non-professional employees in non-professional firms (e.g., telephone workers) and professional employees in professional firms (e.g., public accountants). The key difference between these two groups is that the organization’s emphasis on external, professional guidance affects the organizational commitment of professional employees, but not that of non-professional employees. Management accountants fall somewhere between these two extremes, being professional employees working in non-professional firms. This research examines whether the organizational commitment of management accountants responds to ethical climate. Our results indicate that the non-professional work setting of management accountants influences how management accountants respond to their firm’s ethical climate.

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