Auditing students’ professional commitment and anticipatory socialization and their relationship to whistleblowing

Purpose – The accounting profession has emphasized the need for professionals to develop ethical attitudes early in their career, even before they enter the profession. The current study aims to examine the attitude of 128 US auditing students regarding whistleblowing. Design/methodology/approach – Some determinants of whistleblowing perception such as professional commitment and anticipatory socialization (as operationalized by perception of financial reporting) are explored. Findings – The results indicate that auditing students very close to graduation with more commitment to their profession and higher perception of financial reporting are more likely to blow the whistle on illegal management actions. Originality/value – The results of the research have implications for the accounting profession and accounting education.