Ethical Ideologies, Work Experience, and Moral Development in Public Sector Auditors

Nazaripour, Mohammad; Shamaei, Leila

doi:10.22111/ijop.2026.53027.1061

Ethical Ideologies, Work Experience, and Moral Development in Public Sector Auditors

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohammad Nazaripour ¹
Leila Shamaei ²

¹ Accounting Department, Faculty of management & Accounting, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran.

² Accounting Department, Dehaghan Branch Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan, Iran.

10.22111/ijop.2026.53027.1061

Abstract

This study explores the interplay between organizational socialization, ethical ideology, and the moral decision-making processes of public-sector auditors. Using a descriptive-survey design, data were collected from 98 Iranian public-sector auditors in 2023. Employing multinomial logistic and OLS regression analyses, the study examines how tenure and ethical frameworks influence cognitive moral development and ethical behavioral intentions. Findings reveal that increased tenure is inversely associated with moral development and ethical intention. This decline is interpreted not as a byproduct of aging, but as a byproduct of organizational socialization, where “institutionalized conformity” and the “normalization of deviance” gradually erode principled sensitivity. Furthermore, ethical ideology acts as a critical cognitive filter: idealism is positively correlated with advanced moral reasoning and strict ethical intentions, whereas relativism facilitates “unethical flexibility,” enabling auditors to justify situational compromises under bureaucratic pressure. Notably, absolutism emerges as a stabilizing posture that buffers against the erosive effects of long-term organizational exposure. These results underscore that professional experience in high-pressure public-sector environments can inadvertently dampen principled decision-making. Consequently, the study emphasizes the need for ethics training that focuses on building “cognitive resilience” and reinforcing universal principles to counteract bureaucratic inertia. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how institutional culture and individual ideology intersect to shape the ethical landscape of public auditing in developing economies.

Keywords