Local government staff perceptions of accountants’ ethical conduct: a case study of Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly, Ghana

This study examines local government staff perceptions of whether accountants within the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly, Ghana behave ethically. Within Ghana’s decentralised governance system, accountants play a central role in safeguarding public resources, yet little is known about how ethical they are perceived to be by colleagues. Using a qualitative case study design, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with staff from eight departments. Thematic analysis, guided by Rest’s four-component model of ethical decision-making, revealed gaps in ethical awareness, inconsistent training, and organisational pressures that undermine ethical conduct. While staff expressed strong intent to act ethically, weak institutional support, political interference and limited enforcement of policies often prevented ethical judgement from translating into action. The study findings underscore the need for continuous, context-specific ethics training and stronger institutional safeguards. The study contributes to the literature by extending Rest’s model to show how organisational culture mediates the translation of ethical intent into practice.