Moderation of Religiosity in the Influence of Ethical Knowledge on Ethical Perception

Abstract

Various financial scandals in the field of accounting are violations of the accountant's code of ethics, which give rise to different perceptions from each person. This research focus to determine the role of religiosity in moderating the influence of ethical knowledge on ethical perception. The study population consisted of accounting students from Politeknik Negeri Ujung Pandang. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select 245 participants in this study. The data used are primary data which collected through an online questionnaire using Google form. The criteria in this study are students who have taken and passed the Accounting Professional Ethics course, have never repeated the Accounting Professional Ethics course, and have received a minimum grade of B. The data analysis technique used is the Structural Equation Model with SmartPLS 4.0 as analysis tool. The novelty in this study is the use of the religiosity variable as a moderating variable that strengthens the influence of ethical knowledge on ethical perception. Results indicated a significant positive relationship between accounting professional ethics knowledge and ethical perception (path coefficient = 0.787, p < 0.001). However, contrary to expectations, religiosity did not significantly moderate this relationship (path coefficient = 0.094, p = 0.130), suggesting that ethical knowledge itself is sufficiently robust in shaping ethical perceptions among accounting students regardless of their level of religiosity. This study contributes to the literature by examining religiosity as a moderating variable that potentially strengthens the relationship between ethical knowledge and ethical perception.