Developing an Indigenous Model of Auditors’ Ethical Sustainability Based on Grounded Theory

Abstract

The present study aimed to develop an indigenous model of auditors’ ethical sustainability in Iran based on grounded theory and to identify its causal, contextual, intervening, strategic, and consequential dimensions. This study was fundamental in purpose and qualitative in nature and was conducted using grounded theory with a paradigmatic approach. The participants included Iranian auditing experts, university professors, managers of the Audit Organization, and auditing firms who were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 experts, and the interview process continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis was performed through open, axial, and selective coding using MaxQDA18 software. Lincoln and Guba’s criteria, including credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, were employed to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings. The findings indicated that auditors’ ethical sustainability is influenced by both intrinsic and acquired causal conditions. Intrinsic factors included conscience, moral courage, religious beliefs, honesty, intellectual independence, and family upbringing, whereas acquired factors included professional competence, experience, critical thinking, stress management, and commitment to continuous learning. Contextual conditions were categorized into organizational, professional, and macro-social dimensions, while intervening conditions consisted of economic, managerial, legal, cultural, and competitive pressures. The extracted strategies were classified into educational-developmental, structural-supervisory, and selection-supportive dimensions. The results further demonstrated that ethical sustainability contributes to higher audit quality, enhanced public trust, strengthened professional credibility, and improved capital market stability. The paradigmatic model demonstrated that auditors’ ethical sustainability emerges from the complex interaction of individual, organizational, professional, and environmental factors. Achieving sustainable ethical behavior among auditors requires strengthening professional ethics infrastructures, institutional support systems, continuous education, and ethical organizational cultures. The proposed model can serve as a framework for professional policymaking, regulatory guideline development, and enhancement of public trust in the auditing profession in Iran.