The Influence of Personal, Professional, Legal, and Cultural Factors on the Application of the Code of Ethics in the Accounting Profession

Abstract This paper examines the factors influencing the ethical conduct of accountants and auditors in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), focusing on four key dimensions: personal interests and motives, work experience and professional competence, legal protection and market factors, and moral attitudes and the cultural environment, including religion and social norms. The research was conducted on a sample of 89 accountants and auditors using a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. Respondents expressed their views on various aspects of ethical behaviour within the profession. Parametric statistical methods, the Z-test and Repeated Measures ANOVA, were employed to test the hypotheses. The results suggest that the cultural environment, including national customs and social norms, exerts a stronger influence on the ethical behaviour of accountants and auditors than religious beliefs. The study provides empirical evidence on the relative importance of different factors shaping ethical behaviour in the accounting and auditing profession, with particular emphasis on the role of culture as opposed to religion.