MACHIAVELLIANISM AND SHORT-TERM EARNINGS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Despite the growing interest, the empirical results found in the literature concerningMachiavellianism and its impact on ethical judgments document both inconsistent andcontradictory results. On the other hand, the acceptance of short-term earnings managementpractices raises the most important and controversial ethical issues in the accounting profession.To help resolve these issues, this particular experimental study explores whether ethicalacceptability of short-term earnings management varies with Machiavellian behaviourpredisposition. The results of the study find that ‘high Mach‘ exhibit less strict ethical judgmentsthan ‘low Mach‘ counterparts. Implications for future research are discussed.