Confidentiality of Accounting Academics: Consequences of Nonconformity

Abstract

This paper examined ways by which nonconformity to confidentiality among accounting academics could lead to increased-recruitment-and-legal-costs to their employing universities in Ghana that offered accounting degree programmes. With a cross-sectional design, data collected from 1,225 accountants analysed via Cronbach’s alpha, differences-between-proportions, and one-way ANOVA revealed that the impact of lack of confidentiality on increased-recruitment-and-legal-costs was not significant. The most outstanding ramification to the nonconformity problem among accounting academics was increase in expensive lawsuits against the universities. Universities must provide rules and regulations as well as incentives to ensure conformance to confidentiality by accounting academics.

Keywords: Accounting academic, accounting ethics, non-adherence, cost consequence, confidentiality