Ethics and Environmental Auditing: An Investigation of Environmental Auditors' Levels of Moral Reasoning.

This exploratory study examines the differences in moral reasoning levels among environmental auditors, other internal auditors and public accountants. It is posited that auditors with higher levels of moral reasoning (as measured by Rest's (1979) Defining Issues Test) may self-select into environmental auditing assignments. Conversely, auditors with lower levels of moral reasoning may be assigned to environmental audits by the company to protect corporate interests. Fifty-two practicing environmental auditors (as well as 26 internal auditors) participated in the study by completing and returning the experimental survey and the Defining Issues Test (DIT). While results did not support the hypothesis that environmental auditors have higher mean scores on the DIT than other practicing accountants, further analysis revealed that auditors who requested an environmental auditing position had significantly higher DIT scores than those assigned to the position.