Tendency toward Machiavellianism Behavior & the Auditor's Attitude toward Unethical Marketing Methods

Competition existed since the beginning of trade, and unethical behaviors were considered interfering with competition. Thus, the consideration of unethical behaviors is one of the fundamental research subjects in various fields. This study seeks to investigate the effect of tendency toward Machiavellianism behavior on auditors’ attitude to marketing unethical Methods.
This study employs descriptive-correlation research method. Study population includes private sector auditors. Required data was collected from 289 auditors in Tehran, who were selected by simple random sampling. The tools of Research data collection is questionnaires. Statistical analysis of data was used by using multiple regression analysis.
The findings show that the tendency toward Machiavellianism behavior is effective in auditors’ attitude to marketing unethical methods. Moreover, findings indicate that the increase of auditors’ educational attainment corresponds to higher tendency toward marketing unethical methods.
The results confirm that competition in auditing profession leads to the increase of unethical methods, specifically in private sector; therefore, the auditing quality diminishes.