Developing Professional Skepticism: The Learning Perspective

• In Event: Achieving Professional Competence: Beyond Knowledge and Skill

Abstract

Professional organizations offer judgments and decisions as their main product, e.g. chartered professional accountants, financial analysts and lawyers. Professional skepticism has been highlighted as an important construct to help professionals make better judgments. Using the auditing domain as a setting, his study highlights the importance of professional skepticism as a learnt skill, rather than as a stable trait. In a quantitative study, we find that auditors who perceive their learning climate to be open to inquiry and dialogue, to feedback seeking and receiving, and to reflection, score significantly higher on professional skepticism. Results of this study add insights to the domain of professional judgment research, highlighting the importance of facilitating learning over trait-based selection.

Authors

• Therese Grohnert, Maastricht University

• Roger Meuwissen, Maastricht University

• Wim H. Gijselaers, Maastricht University