PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine whether there were differences in students' ethical perceptions based on gender, academic major and religiosity.Design/methodology/approachA self‐administered survey was conducted of 132 students at a university in Barbados, to determine ethical perceptions on five moral constructs: justice, relativism, utilitarianism, deontology and egoism.FindingsThe study found that females displayed higher ethical values compared to males, non‐accounting students (majoring in management and economics) were more ethical than accounting students, and students who perceived themselves as being religious were more ethical than non‐religious students. Both female accounting and non‐accounting students, as well as religious and non‐religious females, held higher ethical perceptions than their male counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was small, thus limiting the generalisability of the results to the wider student population.Practical implicationsThe results should be useful for educational institutions to implement more ethical courses into the curriculum.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates that ethical perceptions are important among undergraduate students, and that there needs to be remedies to improve the low ethical perceptions among accounting students. The paper also contributes to the sparse literature on ethics in the Caribbean.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions of fraud detection techniques in the stock and warehouse cycle in Barbados. Design/methodology/approach -The study uses a self-administered questionnaire, adapted and modified from Owusu-Ansah et al. The sample is comprised of 64 auditors. The study examines the perceived effectiveness of audit procedures, the influence of size of the audit firm, and the level of audit experience in the choice of specific audit procedures. Findings -The study indicates that there is a moderate to high perceived effectiveness of standard audit procedures in the detection of fraud in the stock and warehousing cycle in Barbados and that the majority of the "more effective" audit procedures can be classified as field research techniques that are more direct in obtaining evidence. It is found that auditors from larger firms reported higher means for audit procedures. There are mixed findings with respect to the significant relationship between level of auditing experience of auditors and perceived effectiveness of fraud detection techniques. The study also indicates that males consistently rated the level of effectiveness of audit procedures higher than females.Research limitations/implications -Due to the relatively small sample size, these findings should be interpreted with caution. Nonetheless, the findings of this study do indicate that auditing procedures in this developing country are on par with those of developed countries. Practical implications -This paper serves to inform audit-related policies and regulation on the potential threats within the stock and warehouse cycle. Originality/value -This paper contributes to the limited body of research on fraud detection within the stock and warehouse cycle in small developing countries.

This study sought to learn about stress experienced by students enrolled in the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados. This research was primarily undertaken to help UWI administrators/academic staff understand and address student stress. One hundred and six FSS students responded to:-(1) student perceptions on whether summer school courses were less stressful compared to semester courses, (2) the mean stress level associated with summer and semester courses, (3) FSS student stressors, and (4) coping mechanisms used by FSS students to handle stressors. The research revealed a statistically significant difference in the mean stress levels that students experienced between summer and semester courses. The key stressors identified were: (i) amount of work in each course, (ii) group projects being a nightmare, (iii) studying and working full-time, (iv) stress associated with work impacting studies, and (v) taking too many courses per semester. The primary coping strategies used by FSS students were: (i) taking some quiet time and then resuming studies, (ii) praying for renewed strength, (iii) sleeping more, (iv) eating more, and (v) engaging in a hobby. Statistically significant results were observed on several of the key stressors and coping mechanisms. The paper concludes by discussing implications for policy and practice which can aid UWI administration/academic staff to craft strategies that can assist in reducing the amount of stress experienced by students.

No abstract

No abstract