Económicas CUC vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328. January - June, 2024

Barranquilla. ISSN 0120-3932 Impreso, ISSN 2382-3860 On line

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17981/econcuc.Econ.4328

Scientic and technological research

Date of receipt: 24/02/2023

Return date: 21/06/2023

Date of acceptance: 20/07/2023

Date of publication: 28/07/2023

Michael Muñoz Guzmán

Corporación Antonio José de Sucre

Sincelejo, Sucre (Colombia)

michaelmz@hotmail.es

To cite this article:

Muñoz Guzmán, M. (2024). Analysis of the ethical

behavior of public accountants in Colombia. A vision from

graph theory. Económicas CUC, 45(1). e14328. https://doi.

org/10.17981/econcuc.Econ.4328

JEL: C002, M14, M41

ECONÓMICAS

CUC

Analysis of the ethical behavior of public accountants

in Colombia. A vision from graph theory

Análisis del comportamiento ético de contadores

públicos en Colombia. Una visión desde la teoría de

grafos

Abstract

Ethics is the science that deals with the study of human behavior, which is

why the main objective of this study was to determine the ethical behavior

of public accountants in Colombia during the period 2017-2021 through a

mixed-type graph model based on the methodology proposed by authors

such as Melo & Meira (2012), who spoke of associativity and centrality in

the area of management development because an articulation between the

ethical regulatory framework and the behavior of accounting professionals

is proposed. As a result, a conceptual and theoretical frame of reference was

obtained, which allowed a more solid analysis of the ethics of accountants

and the Graph Theory; likewise, the ethical behavior of public accountants

in Colombia was evidenced during the period 2017-2021, thus showing

ethical behaviors of unethical ones according to the normative principles

of the accounting profession. The information provided by the Central

Board of Public Accountants of Colombia was a limitation, as it did not

specify all the principles that an accountant had violated. This study

will have important implications for the actions of accountants due to its

ethical and conceptual value in administrative theories and the relevance

of affectations that may affect the professional life of each one of them. It is

original because there has not been a study on ethics in accountants using

Graph Theory. In conclusion, we have identified that the most frequently

violated principles of the code of ethics are responsibility, observance of

normative dispositions, respect among colleagues, ethical conduct, and

integrity, while those that are violated in a smaller proportion are those of

objectivity, independence, and confidentiality.

Keywords: Ethics; public accountant; code of ethics; graph theory; IFAC.

Resumen

La Ética es la ciencia que se encarga del estudio del comportamiento del ser

humano, es por ello que este estudio tuvo como objetivo central, determinar

el comportamiento ético de contadores públicos en Colombia, durante el

periodo 2017-2021, mediante un modelo de grafos, de tipo mixto, basado en

la metodología propuesta por autores como Melo & Meira (2012), los cuales

hablaron de asociatividad y centralidad en el área de desarrollo directivo,

debido a que se plantea una articulación entre el marco normativo ético y el

comportamiento de profesionales en contaduría. Como resultado se obtuvo

un marco de referencia conceptual y teórico, que permitió un análisis más

sólido de la ética de los contadores y la Teoría de Grafos; asimismo se

evidenció el comportamiento ético de los contadores públicos en Colombia,

durante el periodo 2017-2021, mostrando así conductas éticas de las no

éticas de acuerdo con los principios normativos de la profesión contable.

Como limitantes se tuvo la información ofrecida por la Junta Central de

Contadores Públicos de Colombia, toda vez que no especificaban de manera

muy clara todos los principios que había infringido un contador. Este

estudio tendrá implicaciones importantes en el actuar de los contadores

por su valor ético y conceptual en teorías administrativas, y relevancia de

afectaciones que pueden llegar a la vida profesional de cada uno de ellos.

Es de carácter original debido a que no se ha hecho un estudio sobre ética

en contadores usando Teoría de Grafos y como conclusiones se tienen que

los principios que más se violan del código de ética son: responsabilidad,

observaciones de las disposiciones normativas, respecto entre colegas,

conducta ética e integridad; mientras que los que se violan en menor

proporción son los de objetividad, independencia, y confidencialidad.

Palabras clave: Ética; contador público; código de ética; teoría de grafos;

IFAC.

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

INTRODUCTION

Ethics is the science responsible for modeling human behavior in all its dimensions,

whether personal, occupational, professional, or coexisting. It materializes in human

action through principles, values, and virtues, which in turn make up the construct

or solid base on which all human action rests.

The importance of studying ethics for the researcher has repercussions on the

strengthening of his abilities to live in society, to act more effectively in his work

context based on normative approaches, and, fundamentally, to establish his

principles.

Regarding relevance, rationalizing human behavior among accounting

professionals poses a challenge for both them and the profession, as institutions are

obligated to enforce the regulatory framework for the indirect benet it provides to

society, encompassing social, economic, and political issues.

Likewise, the research’s relevance benets the scientic community, as it

strengthens knowledge in elds such as Graph Theory, Ethics, and Accounting.

Likewise, it benets society in general to the extent that good ethical behavior

on the part of those responsible for accounting in organizations will lead to an

increase in economic benets to the population, as well as a fundamental aspect for

academia, namely an increase in research rates for university institutions.

The research is based on graph theory, utilizing a pictorial representation of a

digraph (a graph with direction) that provides a more didactic and comprehensive

illustration of the ethical behavior of accounting professionals in Colombia during

the period 2017-2021. This representation allows anyone, regardless of their level

of study, to understand it. The methodology is based on a documentary review of an

inductive-descriptive character, allowing for an understanding of the ethical reality

of the accounting profession in Colombia, where only inferences are made about

this group of professionals.

Given the above, the praxeology of this research is justied due to the limited

studies on ethical behavior among accounting professionals in Colombia, particularly

in aspects of graphic illustration, which serve as a means of generating understanding

and facilitating easy comprehension among the community. Likewise, the future

projection is to offer this tool to other areas of knowledge.

Considering that ethics is the science that evaluates human beings in terms of

their behavior and actions in society, if the public accounting professional does not

act correctly by the normative frameworks imposed by society and the governing

bodies of his professional eld, it would be an attack against the principles, values,

and institutions themselves.

A professional accountant who lacks ethical principles in their approach will

likely reect that same behavior in their interactions with society and organizations.

In Colombia, numerous cases of corruption have occurred within organizations due

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

to misconduct by both company agents and accountants. These professionals have

utilized accounting as a mechanism to support the economic activities of companies,

but have also employed this discipline as a facade to conceal their immoral actions.

There is a need for accounting professionals who do not tarnish the accounting

discipline and who act honestly toward the community, the State, shareholders,

and other indirect beneciaries who rely on accounting information for informed

decision-making. Nowadays, professionals lack these virtues since the State and

society itself have forgotten to strengthen the Ethics chairs in the academic cloisters

of all levels of knowledge, and even more, parents have neglected to instill values

in their children from a very early age that contribute to the strengthening of the

moral bases throughout their lives.

Thus, the central objective of the research is to determine the ethical behavior of

public accountants in Colombia during the period 2017-2021 using a graph model

and specic goals such as identifying regulatory aspects that regulate their ethical

behavior, specifying the public accountants that make up the Central Board of

Accountants of Colombia in accordance with those who have been reprimanded,

and nally, designing a graph model that illustrates the ethical behavior of these

professionals.

STATE OF THE ART

Background and current status of the subject

Public Accounting is a discipline that aims to provide information to society,

shareholders, investors, creditors, agents, employees, and the State, among others,

through the measurement, evaluation, and analysis of organizational and economic

records on nancial information, performance, and future ows of resources, where

beneciaries of information use such information to make decisions (IFRS, 2018).

In Colombia, the governing body of the accounting profession is the Special

Administrative Unit of the Central Board of Accountants-UAEJCC, which has

three areas within its mission processes: Disciplinary Tribunal, Registration

and Inspection, and Surveillance. The rst is a collegiate body made up of 7

ofcers, which is responsible for conducting disciplinary investigations of public

accountants and entities providing accounting services that are registered in it; the

second is responsible for making registrations of public accountants and entities

providing these services, and the third consists of the supervision of accountants

and companies that offer or provide services with the exercise of the accounting

profession (UAEJCC, 2022).

For the period from September 18, 1956, to June 8, 2021 (the last Registration

Committee conducted by the UAEJCC), there were 282,023 registered public

accounting professionals, of which 277,235 are active (98.30%); 4,695 are deceased

(1.66%), and 93 have canceled registrations (0.04%) (UAEJCC, 2022).

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

The problems regarding the actions of public accountants in Colombia have been

studied on several occasions, including the study conducted by Álvarez (2017),

where the sanctions imposed by the UAEJCC in the last six years for the codes of

ethics Law 43 of 1990 and the IFAC code of ethics was considered; They concluded

that public accounting and auditing are framed in signicant risk situations since

they represent a higher degree of responsibility and that most of the sanctions are

caused by social and economic pressures of the environment.

Likewise, Jara & Londoño (2019), in a study called analysis of the sanctions

imposed by the UAEJCC in the years 2013-2018, problematized the way the UAEJCC

had been acting in relation to the sanctions applied to the public accountant for

behaviors that violated the code of ethics, in this, they concluded that the public

accountant must not only have technical accounting knowledge, but also skills,

attitudes and ethical values as a basis for the performance of the professional

practice.

Theoretical Framework

Ethics

Socrates, one of the greatest thinkers of antiquity and one of the rst philosophers

who began to talk about ethics, asserted that human beings should

know themselves and that if someone did wrong, it would be because of ignorance.

Therefore, he urged society to educate men, and then they would be good (Guthrie,

1962).

For Aristotle, ethics is the structure of human behavior, of a social character, the

form in which collective life manifests itself. It is a form of politics (understanding

that is reached through experience and life), but its end is not knowledge but action,

praxis (Hegel, 1995).

On the other hand, Epicurus of Samos stated that human life is characterized by

the coexistence of pain and pleasure, establishing an equivalence between good and

pleasure, and evil and pain. This is the reason his thesis was sustained through

assertions such as the reason must tend to seek happiness and tranquility, which

is, in essence, doing good (Manrique, 2002).

In accordance with what was stated above by the thinkers of antiquity, writers

such as Savater (1991), in his book Ethics for Amador, conrm that the science of

ethics is the art of coexistence, encompassing the knowledge of how to live. It is

the art of thinking and knowing how to scrutinize what is good and what is wrong,

trying to choose what is most convenient for human beings in their coexistence.

Likewise, for Dussel (1996), ethics is a science that operates in various elds of

reality, crossing over into other sciences, including each of their systems, and is

demonstrated as that which governs human actions in terms of principles, values,

and virtues.

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

As it has been shown, ethics is a science that serves humanity in society, seeking

a better coexistence so that humans can live in a better way, basing their behaviors

on norms imposed by society itself, and that should be inherent virtues. Thus, ethics

transcends not only the human being but also the institutions that inhabit society,

which is why it is present in all disciplines of knowledge, thereby giving rise to

what is known as professional ethics.

Professional ethics

The profession is a vocation or human and social activity through which a service

is provided in an institutionalized manner, allowing a group of professionals to

protest exclusivity before subjects who wish to exercise it outside the authorized

profession (Martínez, 2006). It is to be understood then that the professional, in the

exercise of his functions, faces a responsibility before society, given his legitimacy

and benet to it.

Since ethics are found in all areas of knowledge, accounting is no stranger to this

knowledge and its actions in society. That is why, in accounting, we speak of the

Ethics of the Accountant as a eld of action of the accounting professional when

performing their accounting activities.

Code of Ethics

According to Galán (1999), a code of ethics is a system that standardizes the

moral responsibilities underlying the social role of the professional in a specic

area of knowledge and, likewise, determines the expectations that society has the

right to demand of them.

On the other hand, Salcedo (1999) states that apart from this, codes of ethics

regulate professional activities in the sense that they protect users from professional

misconduct of the subjects and also these same professionals in their relationships

as colleagues; thus, a code of ethics would become an instrument that allows an

evaluation of the actions of professionals in their functions.

Thus, it can be inferred that codes of ethics are postulates that thoroughly dene

a path for any profession, giving it identity and legitimacy before society, which has

legitimized it for the common good from the outset.

Accountant Ethics

The professional public accountant cannot detach himself from his ethical behavior

in each of the activities he performs in the name of his profession, for which his

professional judgment is indispensable. The raison d’être of the public accountant

lies in the Public Faith that he proclaims when signing nancial reports in economic

organizations, giving society qualities of suitability, integrity, and reliability in his

actions; therefore, the accountant must show mental and functional independence

in the organizations, giving the guarantee that his signature predicts that the facts

recorded and endorsed by him are reliable and reasonable (Pinilla & Álvarez, 2013).

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

Thus, it is clear to state that the actions of the public accountant are subject to

a series of regulations existing in Colombian and international standards, which

nd their legal basis in Law 43 of 1990 and the Code of Ethics of the International

Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

Law 43 of 1990 - Code of Ethics

Article 35 of this law states that Public Accounting is a profession whose purpose

is to satisfy the needs of society, whether in the exercise of its private or public

functions. It must watch over the economic interests of the community, understood

as natural or juridical persons formally organized and society in its holistic scope

(Congreso de Colombia, 1990).

Likewise, the same law establishes that public accountants must act with

principles of integrity, objectivity, independence, responsibility, condentiality,

observance of regulatory provisions, professional competence and updating,

dissemination and collaboration, respect among colleagues, and ethical conduct in

the exercise of their functions.

In Colombia, the body in charge of overseeing disciplinary processes in the

actions of public accountants is the Special Administrative Unit of the Central

Board of Accountants, which, by Resolution 000-0604 of March 17, 2020, adopts the

internal procedure for the promotion, processing, and completion of disciplinary

investigations conducted by the Disciplinary Tribunal against public accountants

and entities that provide accounting services, which may be raised through

complaints, reports or ex-ofcio. (UAEJCC, 2020).

For the UAE Central Board of Accountants, a complaint is a denunciation led

by a citizen against the public accountant(s) or accounting service providers; a

report is an action through which a State entity, in the exercise of its competence,

warns about the alleged unethical conduct of a professional or company providing

accounting services. An ex ofcio opening is the power of the Disciplinary Tribunal

of the UAE Central Board of Accountants to initiate disciplinary action against

those who exercise accounting activities when conduct that violates the code of

ethics is detected. (UAEJCC, 2020).

Thus, the Resolution mentioned above establishes the principles on which the

UAE Central Board of Accountants is based to evaluate the disciplinary proceedings

in charge of the Disciplinary Tribunal, which are recognition of human dignity,

ownership of the disciplinary power and autonomy of action, legality, purposes of

the disciplinary sanction, proportionality and reasonableness of the disciplinary

sanction, equality, favorability, culpability, purposes of the disciplinary process, due

process, comprehensive investigation, presumption of innocence, right to defense,

disciplinary res judicata, free disciplinary proceedings, motivation, consistency,

and prevalence of the principles and normative integration.

It should be claried that the UAE Central Board of Accountants advances a

series of stages before delivering a sanctioning verdict to those responsible for

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

accounting information. Among these stages are the preliminary inquiry stage,

the disciplinary investigation stage, the charges stage, the discharge stage, the

ruling stage, and nally, the registration and communication of sanctions in the

institutional database (UAEJCC, 2020).

IFAC Code of Ethics

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the leading body in the

issuance of international ethical and assurance standards, through its International

Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), has also issued a Code of Ethics

that establishes ethical requirements for accounting professionals to strengthen

the profession worldwide, contribute to the development of sound international

economies by establishing high-quality standards and promoting adherence to

them, foster international convergence, and pronounce on relevant public interest

issues. (IESBA, 2009). The code is structured in three parts, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1.

Structure Code of Ethics - IFAC

Part A GENERAL APPLICATION OF THE CODE

100 Introduction and Fundamental Principles

110 Integrity

120 Objectivity

130 Professional competence and diligence

140 Condentiality

150 Professional behavior

Part B PRACTICING ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS

200 Introduction

210 Professional appointment

220 Conict of interest

230 Second opinions

240 Fees and other types of remuneration

240 Professional Services Marketing

260 Gifts and invitations

270 Custody of a client’s assets

280 Objectivity - All Services

290 Independence - Audit and Review Engagements

291 Independence - Other assignments that provide a degree of security

Part C ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS IN THE COMPANY

300 Introduction

310 Potential conicts

320 Preparation and presentation of information

330 Acting with sufcient specialization

340 Financial interests

350 Incentives

Source: own elaboration

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

Consistency between Law 43 of the 1990 and the IFAC Code of Ethics

In Colombia, Decree 302 of 2015, unied in Decree 2420 of the same year, stipulated

that public accounting professionals should be governed by the International

Code of Ethics (IFAC), meaning they should adhere to two codes of ethics in the

development of their functions (MinCIT, 2015).

Considering the provisions of Law 43 of 1990 and the IFAC code, national

regulations are inherently incorporated into the international model. Therefore,

it would be logical to assume that applying the international code would result in

satisfactory compliance with the IFAC regulations. This is evident in Table 2.

Table 2.

Concordance of Law 43 of 1990 vs. IFAC Code of Ethics

N. Principles Law 43 of 1990 - Code of Ethics

Colombia / Articles)

IFAC Code of Ethics

(Section)

1Integrity 37.1, 42, 54, 55, 68, 69, 71 100.5, 110, 310-320

2Objectivity 37.2, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 61, 39 100.5, 120, 280, 220, 260

3Independence 37.3, 290, 291

4Responsibility 37.4, 45, 46 100.5

5Condentiality 37.5, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 100.5, 140, 140.7, 100.21

6Observations on regulatory provisions 37.6, 70, 150

7Competence and professional updating 37.7, 43 100.5, 130, 130.2, 130.5-6,

330

8Dissemination and collaboration 37.8 100.5

9Respect among colleagues and ethical

conduct 37.9, 52, 53, 55-62 100.2, 150.2, 240, 150

Source: Authors’ elaboration with data taken from (Sosa, 2016).

Once the concepts of ethics and professional ethics in the accounting profession

have been introduced, given that these elds of knowledge are grounded in reality,

it is possible to analyze the ethical behavior of public accountants in Colombia

through a pictorial representation that facilitates a deeper understanding of such

behavior, using Graph Theory.

Graph Theory

When talking about graphs, it is necessary to think about the origin of

Mathematical Graph Theory. It was rst used in the Social Sciences in the 1960s,

when sociologists sought to identify relationships between individuals and groups

within societies (Scott, 2012; Wassermann & Faust, 1994; Wilson, 1979).

Euler (1707-1782) is considered the father of graph theory for having used this

theory to solve topology problems that were characterized by their difculty. Later,

in 1736, he applied this theory to solve a problem known as The Seven Bridges of

Konigsberg, which involved crossing each of them only once and returning to the

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

starting point. Euler proved that this was not possible. After that, many

mathematicians from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries made valuable

contributions to this theory, including Vandermonde, Cauchy, Cayley, Hamilton,

Kempe, Tait, Heawood, Kirchhoff, and Petersen, among others. (Menéndez, 1998)

(See Figure 1)

Figure 1. Illustration of the seven bridges of the city of Königsberg.

Source: Wilson, R. J. (1979)

Due to the computer revolution, the graph model gained greater recognition

and expanded into other disciplines during the 20th century, including Economics,

Theoretical Physics, Psychology, Nuclear Physics, Linguistics, Sociology, Zoology,

Technology, Anthropology, Computer Science, Biology, Engineering, and Chemistry

(Golumbic, 2004).

The purpose of graph theory is to analyze a structured and abstract representation

of the relationships between individuals or objects in a group. To create an effective

graph, the data must be of interest, complex ideas must be conveyed clearly to the

user, a large number of ideas or agents must be effectively represented in a small

space, and nally, the data must be reliable. (Trujillo et al., 2010).

Graph Theory offers a theoretical and practical approach, as it utilizes models

or structures that facilitate the user’s understanding of the information’s entirety,

whether qualitative or quantitative, in abstract gures. This approach generates

timely solutions (Septiem & Martin-Rios, 2017).

Having a graph as an aid that allows for quick and agile identication of the level

of articulation, integrality, and centrality of the different agents involved in such a

graph would become an innovation in knowledge management for entrepreneurs,

institutions, the scientic community, and society in general. (Tonta & Darvish,

2010)

However, a graph that reects the reality of articulation and centrality would

help us better understand which node has a greater concentration of edges and

identify the nodes with a greater recurrence in arrival.

According to Mena (2012), sociologist Jacob Levi Moreno intended to visually

illustrate the relationships between a group of people, as shown in Figure 2.

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

Figure 2. Relationships within a group of people

Source: Mena (2012)

A graph illustrates the spatial organization of nodes and the ease of access each

node has to the rest of the nodes in the network, utilizing indexes and matrices to

provide a more structured understanding for users and facilitate the identication

of levels of centrality and connections between nodes. Taking into account the

structuring of the graph as a tool with high expressive capacity, which becomes

essential when modeling structures with a high degree of complexity, such as that

of the social sciences (Almagro & Sancho, 2017).

Considering that a graph is composed of nodes and edges, it is said that the

symbolic representation for it would be G= (N, A), making it clear that, under this

thesis, only graphs with nite N and A are considered. It is also worth noting that,

in a graph, the order is established according to the number of nodes (N) and the

size, measured by the number of edges (A). The easiest and most practical way to

represent a graph is to use circles or points to characterize the nodes and lines to

represent the edges. (Berge, 1967).

Figure 3. Graphical representation of an undirected network

Source: Berge (1967)

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

Figure 4. Graphical representation of a directed graph

Source: Berge (1967)

Given the above representations, it is feasible to illustrate the ethical behavior of

accountants in Colombia reported by the Central Board of Accountants for conduct

contrary to the code of ethics, where the nodes will be represented by each ethical

principle of the regulations and the edges for each violating action of the accountants

concerning each principle established in the code of ethics and referenced by the

UAE Central Board of Accountants.

Given the bibliography consulted, the graph theory has the purpose not only

of illustrating the graphical reality of ethical behavior in accountants but also of

determining the behavior that each accountant has had concerning the principles

of ethical regulations, to study their incidence and propose corrective solutions to

violations of the ethical code, to develop good practices in accounting professionals.

That is why the concepts of associativity, accessibility, and centrality are found in

Graph Theory. For this study, only the idea of centrality will be considered.

Centrality in graphs

The construction of a network reects its importance in terms of the value it

holds for a community and its contribution to societal development. Associativity is

related to the links between agents, accessibility, and centrality, which is determined

by the number of entries that reach a node (Bautista, 2018). For this research, the

concepts of associativity and centrality will be taken into account.

It refers to the location or concentration of the nodes, i.e., the number of arrivals

each node receives through its edges. This degree of measurement stipulates which

node has the highest number of arrivals (Almagro & Sancho, 2017). Not all nodes

have the same level of concurrency; everything depends on the communicative

potential of inputs and outputs.

The centrality measures aim to determine the recurrence of nodes to assess their

inuence within the specied area. The efcient measure to calculate this weight of

inputs is given by measuring the degree of centrality, which can be either an input

or an output. The concentration can be seen at a glance once the graph is drawn

about the number of edges that are concentrated in a node.

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

Not all actors have the same communicative potential, i.e., the potential for

inputs and outputs, but this is relative to the actor’s location in the network and

the relationships with others.

According to Insaurralde & Cardozo (2010), centrality measures aim to determine

the recurrence of nodes to determine their inuence on the surrounding area. High

values will characterize a potential or recurrent node, while minimum values will

denote low potential or less recurrent nodes.

Degree: is the number of edges incident on that node.

The formula for determining this grade is as follows:

Formula 1. Degree of centrality

C = Ay/n ……………………………. (1)

Where,

Ay = # of incoming edges at each node

n = number of nodes

Previous research in Graph Theory

Graph Theory has been applied in various elds of research across different areas

of knowledge, including agriculture, geographic information systems, transportation

engineering, medicine, sociology, computer science, business administration,

project management, and tourism, among others. In economics, the works of Montes

(2017) stand out, where they conducted a regional economic analysis of water as a

productive factor in Andalusia, Spain. In this study, water is evidenced as a factor

involved in production, accessible from any path, using linear equations.

There is also the work of Morilas (1995), in which he analyzed changes in the

intersectoral relationships of the Andalusian economy in the 1980s, concluding

that a sector of the economy can inuence the more centrally it is positioned in the

network. On the other hand, Rodriguez (2019) simulates a linear economic model

for a shing community in Colombia, determining that it creates dependence on

the substitutability of agents in the network, whether it has a single or multiple

equilibria. In mathematics, the work of Ramírez (2001) established an extension of

the graph coloring problem, proposing partial numbering algorithms.

Criticism of the ndings. Advantages and disadvantages

Given the above, the premise is that there is no study on ethics using Graph

Theory, much less on the ethical behavior of public accountants, to illustrate the

contextual realities of the accounting discipline. Now, according to this framework

of actions presented, as an advantage, we can highlight the fact of becoming a

new unexploited eld of research and at the same time as a disadvantage due to

the almost null information as background in this context; the present research

will undoubtedly add one more ingredient to the study of ethics in the accounting

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

discipline. Therefore, a scheme based on Graph Theory and an analysis grounded in

ethical regulations is proposed, where the behavior of accountants will be examined

by the laws governing ethics in the accounting profession.

METHODOLOGY

Methodology in research refers to providing a detailed explanation of how the

procedure was followed to achieve a comprehensive study of the object of study

outlined in the general objective, which led to the testing of the study’s hypotheses.

For this research context, a mixed type study is proposed, where quantitative and

qualitative variables were studied to several agents represented by each normative

principle through a documentary review based on the information reported by the

UAE Central Board of Accountants, Graph Theory literature, normative ethical

frameworks (national and international) and which were analyzed using the

construction of matrices. Subsequently, the GRAFOS software was used to analyze

and illustrate the reality of ethical behavior among accountants in Colombia,

yielding a graph that explains the behavior of each professional with respect to each

principle outlined in the standard, thereby facilitating the respective conjectures.

Research design

The research is of a mixed type, as the data collection facilitated the categorization

of the reviewed documents, utilizing matrices and graphs, which are relevant

aspects of a quantitative nature to be later analyzed qualitatively (Hurtado, 2010).

Qualitative research is understood as any research topic that seeks ndings that

cannot be reached by means of statistical procedures or any other quantitative

methodology. (Sampieri, Collado & Lucio, 2003). Likewise, quantitative research is

dened as the most reliable way of verifying and contrasting hypotheses based on

existential theoretical knowledge in reality (Ugalde & Balbastre, 2013).

The proposed methodology aligns with that of authors such as Melo & Meira

(2012), who discussed associativity and centrality in management development, as

it proposes articulation between the ethical regulatory framework and the ethical

behavior of accounting professionals.

The research covers an advanced level of depth, taking into account that, as a

result of the data collected, it has been feasible to construct a sufciently structured

theoretical and epistemological framework to understand and analyze the situation

within the context of the object of study and its variables. To carry out the study,

the ethical variables that the accountants infringed were analyzed.

In this study, observation, description, and analysis of documentary information

have been employed to nd a solution that addresses the hypothesis and explains

the study’s objective. An inductive methodology is proposed because the results

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

cannot be generalized to all accountants worldwide, but only to accountants in

Colombia.

Once the normative variables were analyzed, the design of the graph that led

to the analysis of the ethical behavior of accountants in Colombia for the period

2017-2021 was carried out in order to improve good professional practices in public

accounting. The innovation of this research focused on developing a strategic tool,

such as designing a graph that facilitates a better understanding of the actions of

nancial information professionals in organizations, utilizing Graph Theory.

Population and sample

The population was derived from the total number of public accounting

professionals in Colombia who, at the time of the investigation, were in violation of

the code of ethics and reported by the UAE Central Board of Accountants. At the

date of the investigation, the total number of these public accountants was 168.

As explained in the theoretical framework, the UAE Central Board of Accountants-

UAEJCC, through its Disciplinary Tribunal, is the entity with the legal authority

to determine whether an accounting professional in the UAE has violated the code

of ethics. According to Resolution 000-0604 of March 17, 2020, once the due process

for each offender is completed, the entity, through its platform, assigns a category of

reprimand, renement, suspension, or cancellation, depending on the seriousness

of the offense.

Taking into account the above, it is essential to highlight that, in some events,

the UAEJCC did not discriminate for some professionals precisely the principle

that had been infringed, only a brief account of the fact in a general way, which is

why, for the analysis of the principles infringed, the sample will be of 134 public

accountants, which had in a taxative way the affected normative article.

For the UAE Central Board of Accountants, a reprimand is a warning or

reprimand for misconduct committed but is considered minor; a ne is misconduct

committed by the professional but is not congured as a crime or a serious violation

of the code of professional ethics, this can be a maximum of 5 SMMLV; Suspension

is a misdemeanor for willful misconduct or negligence and has a minimum duration

of 1 month and a maximum of 12 months; cancellation is conduct that generates a

criminal conviction, which are generally qualied as willful misconduct, in which

case the professional card is denitively suspended (Congreso de Colombia, 1990).

Variables

Some variables will be qualitative, and others will be quantitative. For the

qualitative aspect, the principles stipulated in Law 43 of 1990 regarding the code

of ethics to be applied by accountants in Colombia were taken into account. Among

them are those mentioned in Table 2 of this paper.

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

Research instruments

The technique employed was a documentary review and database analysis of the

UAE Central Board of Accountants, which provides ofcial statistical information for

the accounting discipline, based on the methodology used by Hurtado (2010). Data

management was carried out using software, and tables were created to organize

the information and subsequently analyze it using descriptive and inferential

statistics.

Considering the number of accountants in Colombia who violated the ethical

regulatory framework from 2017 to 2021, which totaled 168, we grouped the

accountants into 15-professional cohorts to facilitate understanding and graph

design. This resulted in a total of 12 groups, 11 of 15 professionals, and a group of

3 professionals. Each group was identied by a capital letter of the alphabet, from

A to L, in ascending order, as follows: Group A (professionals from 1 to 15), Group

B (professionals from 16 to 30), and so on.

For the analysis of the data, the variables of the normative ethical framework, as

determined by the principles outlined in Law 43 of 1990, were used, supported by

the database of the UAE Central Board of Accountants. Descriptive and inferential

statistics were also used through matrices that explained the average and percentage

behavior of the norm infringed by each public accountant.

Once the tables of frequencies and indicators were analyzed, a graph was created

that reects the ethical behavior of accountants in Colombia from 2017 to 2021,

according to each principle infringed upon.

In the design of the graphs, the software GRAFOS version 1.3.5 was used, which

is a platform for constructing, editing, and analyzing graphs (Rodríguez Villalobos,

2006). Each of them represents a principle of the Colombian ethical code (Law 43 of

1990), which are numbered from 1 to 9, as illustrated in Table 2 of the theoretical

framework 9, and also identied with the color orange; these nodes are divided by

a horizontal line that splits the node in two, in the upper part will be the number

of the ethical principle and in the lower part the total number of offenders for

that principle. Within the surface above, there will be 12 more blue nodes, which

represent the groups of professionals identied with the letters of the alphabet at

the top and, at the bottom, the number of professionals with a professional card

cancellation offense.

For each node in the group of professionals, edges will appear with addresses to

each of the external nodes (principles numbered from 1 to 9), indicating which of

them was violated by each professional within the group. Three numbers separated

by a semicolon (0;0;0) will appear on each edge; the rst number will refer to the

total number of professionals reprimanded in that group, the second number will

refer to the total number of professionals ned, and nally, the third number

will indicate the professionals suspended. However, it should be noted that this

reference will only be made for a single edge of the group of professionals, which

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

will be highlighted in orange for easy identication, given the number of existing

edges. As indicated above, the one reecting the total number of professionals with

canceled cards will be at the bottom of the group node.

Since the article infringed was specied for some public accountants and not

for others, the matrix analysis will be conducted with the sample, and a general

analysis of the categories — reprimand, renement, suspension, and cancellation

— will be conducted with the entire population (168).

Once the graph and matrix of entries for each node have been constructed, we

proceed to calculate the degree of centrality, which indicates the node with the most

entries. In this case, the principle that public accountants most violated during the

period studied is identied.

RESULTS

Through this study, a conceptual and theoretical framework was established,

enabling a more rigorous analysis of the ethics of accountants and graph theory.

Likewise, to determine the ethical behavior of public accountants in Colombia

during the period 2017-2021, thereby highlighting ethical behaviors that outweigh

unethical ones, in accordance with the normative principles of the accounting

profession. To obtain tools from graph theory that would allow us to illustrate a

graph in an intangible way, to reect the degree of centrality of the ethical norm

based on the moral behavior of public accountants.

The research provides new knowledge in the areas of Ethics, Accounting, and

Mathematics, contributing to the results in a specic application of the social

sciences and inspiring other research in administrative and accounting matters.

Data

Now, considering each specic objective outlined in the research, we proceed

to relate the results found in the object of study to a broader perspective, which

addresses the question that leads to the achievement of the general objective

proposed in the study.

Concerning the rst specic objective, which consists of identifying the normative

aspects that regulate the ethical behavior of public accountants in Colombia, the

identication of such aspects was based on the literature of the ethical standard

Law 43 of 1990 and the IFAC Code of Ethics, which was illustrated in Table 2

Concordance of Law 43 of 1990 vs. the IFAC Code of Ethics.

Regarding the second specic objective, which consists of specifying the public

accountants that make up the Central Board of Public Accountants of Colombia in

accordance with those who have been reprimanded during the period 2017-2021,

the matrix of each group of accountants is shown concerning the number of times

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

they violated the ethical standard in terms of principles, which were identied from

p1 to p9, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3.

Matrix of ethical behavior in Colombian public accountants during the period 2017-2021

Group

Location

according to

the UAEJCC

database

Sample

Principio infringed # times

Population

Category Offender #

Times

p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 p7 p8 p9 AM S C

A 1 to 15 7 1 1 1 5160 0 2 15 0 0 13 2

B16 to 30 9 3 0 0 9 0 8 0 0 6 15 1 0 13 1

C31 to 45 12 7 1 1 11 0 9 0 0 8 15 0 0 12 3

D46 to 60 14 9 1 1 13 0 14 0 0 13 15 0 0 10 5

E61 to 75 14 3 0 0 13 0 14 0 0 6 15 1 0 10 4

F 76 to 90 15 31115 0 14 0 0 5 15 3 0 11 1

G 91 to 105 12 1 1 0 11 0 11 0 0 6 15 1 3 11 0

H 106 to 120 10 0 2 2 10 0 9 0 0 3 15 1 0 13 1

I121 to 135 9 0 0 1 8 0 9 0 0 2 15 0 0 15 0

J 136 to 150 15 1 1 2 14 0 11 0 0 5 15 1 0 13 1

K151 to 165 14 0 0 0 14 0 13 0 0 0 15 0 0 15 0

L 161 to 168 3 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 3 0

Total 134 28 8 9 126 1 120 0 0 58 168 8 3 139 18

Source: own elaboration

Finally, for the fulllment of the third specic objective, which consists of designing

a graph model that illustrates the ethical behavior of public accountantsinColombia

during the period2017-2021, a matrix was constructed that showed the number

of entries to each node and the degree of centrality of these and which was a

fundamental input for the construction of the graph, as shown in Table 4.

Table 4.

Node input matrix

Node Detail # Inputs to the node Degree of centrality

p1 Integrity 28 3,11

p2 Objectivity 80,89

p3 Independence 9 1,00

p4 Responsibility 126 14,00

p5 Condentiality 10,11

p6 Comments on the normative provisions 120 13,33

p7 Competence and professional updating 00,00

p8 Dissemination and collaboration 00,00

p9 Peer Respect and Ethical Conduct 58 6,44

Total # of nodes 9

Source: own elaboration

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

Data analysis

The following is a detailed analysis of Table 4, constructed using matrices, for

each principle that public accounting professionals have infringed upon.

Matrix of Ethical Behavior in Colombian Public Accountants during the Period

2017-2021.

Taking as a reference the sample of 134 professionals, which had a specic

description of the normative ethical principle infringed according to the UAE Central

Board of Accountants, it can be stated that 28 of them violated the principle of

integrity (p1), 8 infringed the principle of objectivity (p2), 9 did not correctly apply

the principle of independence (p3), and 126 infringed the principle of responsibility

(p4).

Likewise, it is inferred that 1 public accountant violated the principle of

condentiality (p5), 120 professionals violated the principle of observations

of regulatory provisions (p6), none violated the principles of competence and

professional updating (p7), nor the principle of dissemination and collaboration

(p8), which did not occur with the principle of respect among colleagues and ethical

conduct (p9), which 58 public accountants misapplied.

Now, taking the population of 168 professionals, that is, the totality of those

reported in the database by the UAEJJC and alluding to the categories of reprimanded,

ned, sanctioned, and canceled cards to accountants, it can be evidenced that 8

professionals were reprimanded, only 3 were ned, 139 were sanctioned and 18

of these, had their professional card as public accountant canceled, thus not being

able to return to practice the profession liberally. If we extrapolate these last data,

it can be stated that, of the total population of accountants who violated the code

of ethics in Colombia during the period 2017-2021, 82.74% are suspended for a

particular time, 10.71% have their professional card canceled, while only 4.76% are

reprimanded and 1.79% are ned.

On the other hand, as for the population analysis, which is related to the

categorization of infractions, the following is detailed: Group A (0;0;13), contains

0 professionals reprimanded, 0 ned and 13 suspended, and so on for all groups;

group B (1;0;13), group C (0;0;12), group D (0;0;0;10), group E (1;0;10), group F

(3;0;11), group G (1;3;11), group H (1;0;13), group I (0;0;15), group J (1;0;13), group

K (0;0;15) and group L (0;0;3).

Corroborating the above with the number of entries to each node, the degree of

centrality is higher in those nodes that have a more signicant number of entries,

that is, principle of responsibility a degree of centrality of 14, p6 principle of

observations of the normative provisions 13.33 and p9 respect among colleagues and

ethical conduct with a degree of centrality of 6.44; p1 integrity (3.11), p2 objectivity

(0.89), p3 independence (1.00) and p5 condentiality (0.11) have medium degrees

of centrality; with degrees of centrality of 0.00 are the principles of competence and

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

professional updating and dissemination and collaboration, since there is no entry

of edges on them.

According to the data analyzed, we proceed to illustrate the digraph that visually

represents the ethical behavior of public accountants in Colombia for the period

2017-2021, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Dígrafo del comportamiento ético en Contadores Públicos colombianos para el periodo 2017-

2021.

Source: own elaboration

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

DISCUSSION

The graph resulting from the construction of matrices, yields as a result a digraph

every time there is a direction of its edges towards the nodes that represent each

ethical principle and which are listed in the upper part from 1 to 9 and in orange

color, followed by an enumeration in the lower part that identies the number

of total entries of the edges, or what is the same, the number of times that this

principle was violated by the public accountants under study, as follows: p1 = node

1/28; p2 = node 2/8, p3 = node 3/9, p4 = node 4/126, p5 = node 5/0, p6 = node 6/120,

p7 = node 7/0, p8 = node 8/0 and p9 = node 9/58.

In this context, it can be seen that the principles that were most violated were

p4 responsibility, with an equivalent of 94.03%, p6 compliance with regulatory

provisions, with 89.55%, and p9 respect among colleagues and ethical conduct, with

43.28%. This reality is evident at a glance in the digraph, simply by examining the

number of edges or directional lines that enter these nodes. It is also worth noting

that the principles that are violated in the lowest proportion are p1 integrity at

20.90%, p2 objectivity at 5.97%, p3 independence at 6.72%, and p5 condentiality

at 0.75%; in addition to the above, the fact that principles p7 and p8, competence,

professional updating and dissemination, and collaboration, respectively, are not

violated by the professional community, stand out as a positive value. This is

evidenced by the low number of edges that these nodes have.

The central nodes within the digraph, which represented the groups of

accountants, each one of 15 and the last one of 3, in the upper part of the node were

identied with a letter of the alphabet from “A” to “L” and in the lower part the

number of accountants whose professional card had been canceled by that group, as

follows: node A/2, node B/1, node C/3, node D/5, node E/4, node F/1, node G/0, node

H/1, node I/0, node J/1, node K/0 and node L/0. The above summarizes the number

of professional accountants whose professional card was revoked, in which case

they could not practice their profession. The sum of these is equivalent to a total of

18, which corresponds to 10.71% of the population.

Similarly, the orange edges, which are thicker than the others, identify the

summary or synthesis of the categories: warning, rened, and suspended of the

offenders for each group, which are detailed below: Group A (0;0;13), Group B

(1;0;13), Group C (0;0;12), Group D (0;0;10), Group E (1;0;10), Group F (3;0;11),

Group G (1;3;11), Group H (1;0;13), Group I (0;0;15), Group J (1;0;13), Group K

(0;0;15) and Group L (0;0;3). From this classication, it is evident that the majority

of professionals who violate ethical principles are suspended from their positions for

a specied period, while the categories that are imposed the least by the UAEJCC

are reprimanded and ned.

The nodes and edges that are on the outside, that is, those that delimit the

digraph, are joined by undirected edges since it is understood that the ethical norm

Muñoz Guzmán et al. / Económicas CUC, vol. 45 no. 1, pp. e14328, January - June, 2024

is articulated and associated in itself as a whole. The union of these is what gives

the formality of the normative.

CONCLUSIONS

Once this study has been carried out, the following conclusions can be drawn:

Professional ethics serves as the roadmap for evaluating the legal and regulatory

compliance of public accounting professionals’ actions and their various areas of

expertise.

- The Colombian code of ethics and the one presented by the international entity

IFAC contain a variety of principles that are concordant at the moment of putting

into practice the practice of the accounting profession; thus, it can be inferred that

the use of one intrinsically contains the other.

- The public accounting professionals reported in the database of the UAE

Central Board of Accountants’ platform as violators of the code of ethics are not

reported in their totality, discriminating exactly the ethical principle that they

violate, which makes it impossible to analyze better the ethical behavior of such

professionals in its holistic aspect.

- The ethical principles that are most frequently violated are responsibility,

compliance with regulatory provisions, respect among colleagues, ethical conduct,

and integrity. In contrast, those that are violated to a lesser extent are objectivity,

independence, and condentiality. The principles that are not violated, such as

competence and professional development through dissemination and collaboration,

also stand out.

- It is essential to point out to the reader that a quick and easy way to understand

the digraph would be to see the number of edges or lines that reach the nodes and,

thus, detect more quickly the centrality in these since getting carried away by the

lines at rst glance would become confusing with the rst impression.

- Every situation that exists in reality can be illustrated pictorially using a

graph, thus determining degrees of centrality.

CREDIT AUTHORSHIP CONTRIBUTION STATEMENT

Muñoz Guzmán: Conceptualization, methodology, graph design in software,

validation, formal analysis, research, resources, data curation, original draft

writing, writing, revision and editing, visualization, and supervision.

ANALYSIS OF THE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN COLOMBIA. A VISION FROM GRAPH THEORY

FUNDING

This article is derived from the research project carried out by the author, titled

“Ethical Behavior of Public Accountants in Colombia during the Period 2017-

2021.” The project was nanced with the university’s resources and the support of

Corporación Universitaria Antonio José de Sucre.

DECLARATION OF COMPETING INTEREST

The present research does not represent any conict of interest with the authors,

the journal, the publishing entity, or the funding entities.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author conducted this research while working as a part-time professor at the

Antonio José de Sucre University Corporation. For this reason, the author thanks

this entity for the vote of condence in enhancing his knowledge and socializing it.

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BIODATA

Michael Muñoz Guzmán is a Public Accountant. He completed PhD studies

in Projects at the Universidad Internacional Iberoamericana (UNINI, Mexico).

Master’s degree in accounting sciences from the University of Antioquia (Medellín,

Colombia). He has completed specializations in Public Management and Financial

Administration. He has worked as a Certied Public Accountant in private and

public sector companies with 12 years of experience in the practice of the profession.

He has been a university professor for 10 years. During his tenure as a researcher,

he has published several articles and book chapters and has spoken at various

national and international events. He currently works as a nancial Advisor to the

Secretariat of the Environment of the Municipality of Sincelejo, a professor at the

Antonio José de Sucre University Corporation (Colombia), and a Certied Public

Accountant in private sector companies. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5624-

6374