Unethical Financial Reporting : An Empirical Analysis of Causes and Consequences

The study attempts to identify the major causes and consequences of unethical financial reporting. We also try to find out if these causes and consequences discriminated between two groups of respondents. The study is based on primary survey with respondents including Chartered Accountants and commerce/ management teachers in Delhi. Using factor analysis and discriminant analysis, we find that ‘delay in final judgement of fraud related court cases' is the most important cause of unethical financial reporting followed by ‘inadequate punishment for defaulters'. Other important identified causes were protection of self-interest of the auditor and the company, lack of effective corporate governance in the company, and whistle-blowing issues. The identified consequences include law suits against the company as the most important one, followed by increase in the volatility in stock market. The most important factor identified is the decline in the stock market valuation followed by loss of credibility of the company. The results also varied among two groups of respondents for identifying factors of causes and consequences