Abstract:
High profile corporate collapses and fraud with which accountants are said to have been associated with has given rise to the questioning of the integrity of the professional accountants. This systemic failure has brought into focus issues of long standing debate with respect to how to curb this act and regain the confidence of the public in the professional accountants and the professional accountancy bodies at large. The study examined the impact of code of ethics on the conduct of professional accountants in Nigeria. Regression Analysis, Correlation Technique and T-test were employed in analyzing the data collected. The results revealed that the fundamental principles of ethics have a significant impact on the positive conduct of professional accountants. It further revealed that there is no difference in the various opinions of stakeholders with respect to the impact of the code of ethics. It is therefore recommended that early stage teaching of ethics in all schools and continuous improvements taking into consideration changes in time, based on the current trend should be encouraged. There should also be a program in place to effectively monitor the adherence level of accountants.
