Earnings management is the practice of making discretionary accounting choices or timing operating decisions to move reported earnings toward a desired goal. Prior research reveals wide disagreement among both students and business executives regarding the ethical acceptability of earnings management. This study investigates whether intent and materiality influence students’ perceptions of earnings Management. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the ethical perception of senior students concerning different earnings management scenarios. The study measures the differences in ethical perception concerning different groups. These groups consist out of males versus females and accounting versus non-accounting students. The results of the 250 questionnaires indicate that: Students will judge there are significant differences between individual intent of earnings management and company intent of earnings management. There is a significant difference between knowledge unethical high materiality earnings management and low materiality earnings management.

Keywords