Virtue Ethics and Accounting Education.

This paper describes the meaning and purpose of virtue theory, emphasizing the work of Pincoffs (1986), how it relates to accounting practice, and pedagogical considerations in teaching virtue to accounting students. Virtues are dispositional properties that provide grounds for preference of persons and actions. In virtue theory, virtue considerations constitute the set of standards that govern moral acceptability. There is a need for virtue in accounting because the virtues enable accountants to resist client and commercial pressures that may result from conflicts between an accountants' obligation to a client or employer and public interest considerations. The following virtues enable accountants to withstand these pressures and to act according to the moral point of view, thereby helping them to meet their ethical and professional obligations to society: (1) benevolence and altruism; (2) honesty and integrity; (3) impartiality and open-mindedness; (4) reliability and dependability; and (5) faithfulness and trustworthiness. Educators can use case analysis, cooperative and collaborative learning techniques, and role-playing, to inform students about the importance of virtue and to facilitate the learning of virtue.