Abstract:
The objective of this thesis is to identify and determine the way in which academic
business research has evaluated or determined corruption, bribery and fraud in
financial and accounting reporting in China and Indonesia. A subsidiary purpose was to
identify how academic accounting researchers have accommodated particular ethnic
and cultural aspects in their research. Very few accounting related results were found,
especially those linking all variables in a conclusive and convincing manner. This
appears to be caused by a lack of agreed definitions of key terms, a confusion over
terminology, usage of discredited and myopic models, and an absence of any specific
reported financial impacts on both the accounting profession and society globally. As a
consequence, only parts of the “proverbial elephant as described by five blind men”
(Duen, 2008, Silverstein, 2012) were identified by various authors, and mostly
independently of each other. These thesis findings create an opportunity and a
challenge for future researchers in this field to take a much more comprehensive
approach, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods, with the aim of
addressing the connection between ethnicity, accounting and corruption in much
clearer perspective. In marrying the normally standalone quantitative with qualitative
methods it is expected that researchers will be able to achieve a hitherto elusively
holistic understanding of the complex layers that propel and impel cultural norms and
ethnicity. In order to do this, it is suggested that future researchers consider the
application of an embedded research methodology, supported by much broader and
deeper analysis and understanding of the various layered ecological influences, as
advocated by academics and thought leaders of society alike.
