Some cross-cultural evidence on ethical reasoning

This study draws on Kohlberg's Cognitive Moral Development Theory and Hofst ede's Culture Theory to examine whether cultural differences are associated with variations in ethical reasoning. Ethical reasoning levels for auditor s from Australia and China are expected to be different since auditors from China and Australia are also different in terms of the cultural dimensions of long term orientation, power distance, uncertainty avoidance and indivi dualism. The Defining Issues Tests measuring ethical reasoning P scores wer e distributed to auditors from Australia and China including Hong Kong and The Chinese Mainland. Results show that auditors from Australia have higher ethical reasoning scores than those from China, consistent with Hofstede's Culture Theory predictions.