The Mediating Role of Conscientiousness in the Relationship Between Auditors’ Ethical Idealism and Fraud Detection

Abdulrahman Almalki (), Yousef Basodan and Helmi Boshnak
Additional contact information
Abdulrahman Almalki: Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics & Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah P.O. Box 80200, Saudi Arabia
Yousef Basodan: Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics & Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah P.O. Box 80200, Saudi Arabia
Helmi Boshnak: Department of Accounting, Faculty of Economics & Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah P.O. Box 80200, Saudi Arabia

JRFM, 2025, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-24

Abstract: Despite the recognized importance of ethical idealism in enhancing fraud detection in the audit context, there remains limited understanding of the mediating role of conscientiousness in the relationship between auditors’ ethical idealism and fraud detection. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of auditors’ ethical idealism on fraud detection via using the conscientiousness of auditors as a mediator. This study employs a cross-sectional approach, and quantifiable data were gathered via structured surveys from 401 external auditors employed in offices licensed to practice the accounting and auditing profession in Saudi Arabia. Accidental sampling was used to ensure a representative sample of auditors in Saudi audit firms. This study utilized the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique to examine the relationships between ethical idealism (as independent variable), conscientiousness (as mediating variable), and fraud detection (as dependent variable). The result showed that ethical idealism has a positive effect on auditors’ detection of fraud. However, the proposed mediation effect of conscientiousness between ethical Idealism and fraud detection was not statistically significant. The research underscores that the ethical idealism of auditors can enhance fraud detection, especially when accounting firms give priority to ethical training programs, ensuring that they are guided by strong ethical idealism rather than personal conscientiousness.

Keywords: fraud detection; ethical idealism; conscientiousness; auditors; audit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C E F2 F3 G (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/5/244/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/5/244/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:18:y:2025:i:5:p:244-:d:1647833

Access Statistics for this article

JRFM is currently edited by Ms. Chelthy Cheng

More articles in JRFM from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().