Tax professionals’ role and ethics during a period of economic crisis in a small European country

Research Question: This paper analyses the role and ethics of tax professionals in the collection of public revenue from business activity during a period of economic crisis in Greece. Motivation: We attempt to analyse the respective influences of a corporate environment and personal beliefs on tax professionals’ ethics as well as the consequences of economic crisis. Idea: The paper employs a modified experimental questionnaire from Bobek & Radtke (2007) for the US. This questionnaire is adapted for Greece during a period of economic crisis. Data: Addressees of the questionnaire were tax professionals of two categories: certified public accountants and accountant/tax consultants, both of which are responsible for determining the amount of taxes owed to the Greek Independent Public Revenue Authority (IPRA). Tools: Results were reached by submitting the results of a questionnaire to a multiple-correspondence analysis based on the Burt matrix. As the size of the sample is rather small, in order to avoid any bias the study employs a resampling procedure based on the k fold validation method. Findings: The results of the survey showed that the main causes of ethical dilemmas are problems with clients such as pressure from clients, client-retention concerns and misunderstandings with clients. The major factor contributing to the resolution of an ethical dilemma is the experience of the tax professional. A significant percentage of respondents believed that their level of morality had increased during the period of economic crisis, making them more compliant with relevant tax rules. Contribution: This study contributes to business ethics and helps reinforce them, thereby contributing to the increase in the public revenues, which can help a economy to emerge faster from an economic crisis. Also, we recommend the targeting on in-house ethics training and explicitly including rewards and sanctions regarding ethical behavior in performance evaluation systems in tax professionals’ firms.

Methods of a Multivariate Analysis of Non-Metric Data in Evaluating the Generational Perception of Social Characteristics

Research background: The search for factors influencing the evaluation of the quality of life in terms of subjective and objective socio-economic aspects was the background of the study. The search for perfect multivariate statistical methods in the describing of the assessments made by respondents in variable groups, as well as the categories was carried out.Purpose: The aim of the study was to recognize the natural areas of transferring subjective satisfaction with the level of social factors in the three groups describing: household, country of residence, and the EU. The determined natural relations between the factors were then compared with the established sets of those factors. The characteristics of behaviour were compared in three generations of the EU.Research methodology: The Standard Eurobarometer, autumn 2018, provided data describing adults from the generations Y, X, and BB. In the analysis a factor analysis and correspondence analysis were used.Results: The effect of the used methods is a multidirectional image of the evaluations made by the EU Generations Y, X and BB in the areas of an individual’s functioning: direct (the household), close (the country of residence), and further (Europe and the EU).Novelty: The conducted analysis indicates the need to use diverse methods in order that the assumed research objectives are thoroughly realized. The article indicates the possibility of modifying the approach in using the Burt matrix in connection with concatenated contingency tables.

Joint Correspondence Analysis (JCA) by Maximum Likelihood

Parameter estimation in joint correspondence analysis (JCA) is typically performed by weighted least squares using the Burt matrix as the data matrix. In this paper, we show how to estimate the JCA model by means of maximum likelihood. For that purpose, JCA is defined as a model for the full K-way distribution by generalizing the correspondence analysis model for three-way tables proposed by Choulakian (1988a , 1988b ). The advantage of placing JCA in a more formal statistical framework is that standard chi-squared tests can be applied to assess the goodness-of-fit of unrestricted and restricted models.