Mixed Research

Background: Conflicts of interest and the resulting ethical dilemmas play a decisive role in the unethical behavior of independent auditors. The main objectives of this study are to identify different situations of conflict of interest of independent auditors and the resulting ethical dilemmas and also to find strategies for managing and controlling each of these situations. Method: In this paper, the exploratory approach of the mixed research method (qualitative-quantitative) has been applied. The statistical population in the qualitative stage is the experts in the field of independent auditing. Accordingly theoretical sampling and after conducting semi-structured interviews, theoretical saturation was obtained and qualitative content analysis method analyzed the data. In the quantitative stage, a questionnaire is designed based on the results of the qualitative stage and distributed among a random sample of members of the statistical community who are certificated public accountants working in audit firms and the structural equation modeling method used to analyze the data. Results: Findings showed that independent auditors become involved in conflicts of interest and ethical issues when disagreeing with a client they fear of losing, when facing with inappropriate job opportunities, when conducting the review process, and when facing with challenges in performing tasks. Also, managing the conflict of interest of independent auditors require the collective efforts of owners, the community of certified public accountants and independent auditors at the individual level and at the level of the audit firm. Conclusion: The results of this study are important because they can provide a good framework for promoting ethics in the auditing profession.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to develop a model of factors affecting students' creativity and to evaluate its validity. Methodology: The research design was an exploratory (qualitative-quantitative) mix. In the qualitative part of the target population, all teachers of the sixth grade of elementary school in the 5th district of Tehran and professors of psychology and educational sciences were prestigious universities in the country, which were selected by purposive sampling of 10 teachers and 10 specialists. In a small part of the population considered in this study, all female primary school students in the sixth grade of the 5th district of Tehran in the year 1998-97, 350 of them were selected as a sample and in random clusters. In the qualitative part of the research, a semi-structured interview was used to obtain information and in the quantitative part, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. Factors with very minor changes in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyze using LISREL software and SPSS / 26 were accepted. Findings: The research findings showed that seven main factors namely students' interests and abilities, teacher characteristics, textbook content, learning style, educational space and school facilities, family and management style and principals' attitudes are effective in students' creativity. Conclusion: In general, since the first step in upgrading and improving any structures is to identify the factors affecting it, the findings of the present study help to develop theories of creativity, design of educational interventions, and general policies.