Personal Characteristics And Whistleblowing Intention Of Accountants In Ghana

ABSTRACT The business world has witnessed numerous corporate scandals and wrongdoings for which stakeholders are questioning the accountability and stewardship roles of management, especially professional accountants and auditors, in organisations. The issue of whistleblowing activities in organisations, which existing literature documents to be an important mechanism of reducing such financial irregularities, has become a topical issue in recent times. Existing literature has advanced several determinants and consequences of whistleblowing intentions and actual whistleblowing activities. However, studies on the interactive role of personal characteristics and motivation on whistleblowing intentions are limited. This study evaluates the influence of personal characteristics (personality traits and professional scepticism) on whistleblowing intentions of accountants in Ghana. By relying on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Organisational Support Theory (OST), the study further examines the role of motivation (perceived organisational support and intrinsic motivation) in the influence of personal characteristics on the whistleblowing intentions of the accountants. A survey design of the research is adopted, and a set of questionnaires are developed and administered to professional accountants in public practice - accounting and auditing firms - in Ghana, and the partial least square-SEM (PLS-SEM) technique is used to analyse the data obtained. The results from analysing the data from 304 accountants reveal that conscientiousness and professional scepticism are significant predictors of the whistleblowing intentions of accountants in Ghana. While extraversion, openness to experience and agreeableness have a positive relationship with whistleblowing intentions, neuroticism had a negative influence on whistleblowing intentions, although these effects are statistically insignificant. The results further suggest that perceived organisational support and intrinsic motivation are mediating factors through which conscientiousness and professional scepticism can influence the whistleblowing intentions of accountants. By implication, the personal characteristics of an accountant will affect his/her intention to engage in whistleblowing. Also, the extent to engage in whistleblowing is predominantly determined by spontaneous satisfaction derived from the activity itself and the organisation values for their competence, well-being and effectiveness