Control Yourself! The Impact of Self-Control on Auditors' Ability to Practice Professional Skepticism

• In Event: Auditor Incentives and Ego Depletion

Abstract

I examine whether auditors with depleted self-control resources fail to identify financially misstated accounts in an experiment completed by 223 practicing auditors. My 2X2 design, based on Bedard and Biggs (1991) experimental task, manipulates mental depletion (depleted vs. control) and audit risk (high vs. low). Psychological literature states that depletion reduces self-control; I posit that depletion leads to a failure to identify misstated accounts. Results suggest this is true, but only for low risk audit environments. In high risk audit environments professional auditors appear to maintain skepticism in spite of self-control depletion. Results are stronger for more experienced auditors, indicating that self-control improves with experience.

Author

• Joleen Kremin, Portland State University