Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to determine if an ethics presentation at an Italian university can change student perceptions of ethics; and 2) to compare results of this study with previously published results from US students. The ethics presentation, previously developed by Smith et al. (2005) for accounting and business classes, made available on the Internet, was adapted and used in classes in Italy. Like the US, Italy has faced significant financial scandals and corporate failures in recent years. Both Italian and US penal laws have been changed to prevent future financial frauds, but there are limits to what laws can accomplish. The ethics presentation described in this paper was an effort to encourage students to consider the importance of ethics. The impact of the presentation on Italian student perspectives is described. In addition, a comparison is made of the impact of the presentation in Italy and in the US, which shows that students in both countries regard ethics as a very important topic.