么文浩

Abstract：This paper sets out to examine the ethics of Chinese and western accounting systems via a contrastive approach. Three dimensions are introduced， good nature vs. bad nature， sensibility vs. sense， demonstrative vs. normative. This contrastive ethical study casts light on the underlying reasons accounting for the differences between Chinese and western accounting systems.

Key words：Contrastive study； ethics； accounting； system

1. Introduction

Sub-textually， accounting is a discipline concerning society and human behavior， closely related to ethics. It is safe to say that the evolvement and development of accounting discipline can be traced to the cultural context of human and the study of human ethics. It is the differences in cultural context， ethic paradigm and moral dimension that fundamentally result in the differences of the construction of Chinese and western accounting systems. In this paper， In this paper， three ethical dimensions will be examined as follow.

2. Good Nature vs. Bad Nature

The “good nature” in Chinese social culture and the “bad nature” in western social culture provide valuable foundation for the forming of accounting ethics， and thus a series of accounting rules and regulations of theirs.

In the oriental or Chinese social-cultural system， the dominant Confucianism is featured with the foundation of “good nature”. The creator of the saying “good nature” endowed to human being， Mencius proposes， “The good nature of human being is as natural as falling of waters （人性之善，猶水之就下也）. No one is without good nature as no water fails to fall （人無有不善，水無有不下） （Chen， 2004， p.27）. Mencius further defines human nature as “growing better” （趨善性）， which is endowed by Heaven to human， as a born good knowledge/ability （良知/良能） which need no effort of acquisition （不學(xué)而能）， consideration （不慮而知）. As Mencius puts it， “Either the commons or royals， self-cultivating is of fundamental importance （自天子以至于庶人，壹是皆以修身為本）”； Confucius also proposes， “Learning from those wise or self-reflecting against those unwise” （見賢思齊焉，見不賢而內(nèi)自省也）. Such sayings indicate that self-censorship is an important approach of self-discipline. The hypothesis of “good nature” by the oriental culture emphasizes that human should exceed ego to reach a state of inner wisdom， where morality， custom， social convention and manners help promote and maintain the common interest of varied accounting agents， to achieve the rationale and harmony of human and social development.

However， in the occidental social-cultural system， the “evil nature” of human being is proposed in the “hypothesis of sin” by the Bible. August， Machiavelli， Hobbes， Schopenhauer and so on， all maintain the idea of born “evil nature” of human. “Humans are born evil-natured， selfish， changeable， hypocritical and greedy” （Machiavelli， 1985， p.15）. Hobbes summarizes human nature into “two most self-evident truths of human nature”， one of which refers to the so-called “principle of natural desire”. Aristotle （1983， p.199） points that a normal human can never remove his or her animalistic desire； even the best person （the wise） may be enthusiastic and partial； the law embodies the removal of all sorts of impact by all desires. The western accounting ethics is established on the basic value of selfishness of human nature， emphasizing the framing of auditing and information revealing against the progress of evil nature of human toward evil nature of society. Therefore， in the western accounting ethics， credit is more than simple human etiquette； more importantly， entails a system of honoring their own commitment.

3. Sensibility vs. Sense

The sensibility in Chinas social culture and the sense in western social culture serve as foundation for accounting ethics and culture， directing the developmental path of the logic of accounting ethics.

In oriental social culture， sensibility is the logical foundation of human interaction and social order， where affection， instinct， fideism and intuitionism is valued. The emphasis of sensibility in such a culture manifests the unique culture featuring affection as source， basis and modifying factor for sense. In reality， things work in a way in which human connection is more valued than law （人情大于公理）， with sense succumbing to private connection， and law to human relation， which is also inlayed in the accounting ethics. For example， human relation is valued and relied while law， rule， principle and regulation are devalued. When special economic issue is handled， human relation， namely， sensibility is overwhelmingly the perspective of problem solving. Sometimes， rules and regulations will be killed by sensibility and human relation.

However， in western culture， sense is the dominant logic， featuring a pursuit of ration， science and truth， criticism and progress. The representatives are Socrates， Plato， Descartes， Kant， Hegel and so on. Such rationalism provides the very three theoretical foundations for the development of accounting ethics and even accounting discipline： Rational-Economic Assumption （an economic man pursues the maximum of personal preference）， Transaction Costs Theory （in the transaction， acquiring any economic information entails certain price， so all sorts of managerial behavior including accounting requires the consideration of transaction cost.）， and Accountability Theory （the trustee accepts the resource entrusted by the client， to ensure the value of the resource）. Max Weber believes that the very basis of capitalism is rational profiting， which is regulated by accounting. Based on such assumption， the nature of accounting is supposed to be “regulating economy by rationalism”， which is in line with emphasis of sense， observation， investigation and experiment by the occidental social culture.

4. Demonstrative vs. Normative

The demonstrative and normative in occidental and occidental culture respectively exert direct and deep influence on the very behavior of accounting， as the “super-norm of accounting” deciding human unconsciousness and behavior.

The oriental ethics dominated by Confucianism tends to pay less attention to the rigid norms. Its emphasis is demonstrative instead of normative. The Confucianism values exemplifying in daily life and learning from the models， when personal sentiment， morality and manners are supposed to be raised， instead of implementing strictly the stipulated norms. In such a culture， the moral requirement in microscopic （individual） field is assumed to be expanded to macroscopic （social） field. As a result， the traditional morality， ethics and faithfulness are expanded to a national scale， in which accounting is one field. The demonstrative principle in Confucianism does not stipulate clearly the behavioral boundary or award and punishment， yet depends solely on personal self-discipline， which is beyond normative control. Therefore， a good example can bring expected result， yet a bad/evil example can lead to the declining of social morality and manners. In practice， the accounting monitoring constantly witnesses absence of implementation of normative rules， and presence of over-gregariousness and cynicism.

The western ethics， however， dominated by normative confirmation and reasoning values thinking over and solving the problem of rationality of obligation and value. As Kant （2002） puts it， there are two things， under constant thinking， which surprise and awe me， namely， the sky above and my inner morality. Therefore， the ethics is more law-oriented， as a common leverage maintaining the social security and balance. In this way， the morality is legalized and institutionalized. Both the accounting principle by the ancient Greek and the book-keeping system by the ancient Roman exemplify such phenomenon. Solid and organized book-keeping and rigid monitoring/auditing systems had been formed before later the norms of accounting behavior came into being during the modern times when the market economy was born. Rules and regulations have been made to ensure the manageability and predictability of the behavior in accounting system. However， such ethics and the normative approach are challenged in recent years. For example， many scandals such as incidents of Enron， Arthur Anderson have taken place successively. American National Congress later approved Sarbanes-Oxley Act， to save the hole of related rules and law， yet failed to eradicate the problem of “credit crisis” fundamentally.

5. Conclusion

Amartya Sen points out that there is no law beyond culture； nor is there law beyond morality and ethics； and only law built on certain law and ethics can be practical （Wang， 2011， p.22）. In considering the nature of accounting， accounting is more than simple an information system or managerial activity. More importantly， it involves the ethics supporting itself behind. This contrastive study with an ethic perspective will serve as a valuable source for understanding the underlying reasons accounting for the difference between Chinese and western accounting systems.

【Reference】

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