Promoting Proactive Auditing Behaviors

• In Event: Auditor Judgment I

Abstract

Auditors work in complex and dynamic environments where complete directives are often unavailable. Thus, in order to achieve quality audit outcomes, auditors need to think and act proactively. For example, auditors should proactively respond to unanticipated risks, coordinate effectively with clients, and invest in the professional development of junior auditors. In this study, we experimentally examine whether there are common conditions that encourage auditors to engage in a range of distinct proactive behaviors. We predict and find that auditors with more autonomy are more likely to be proactive, but only when they have both higher tacit knowledge and a focus on achieving positive job outcomes (rather than avoiding negative job outcomes). Our study introduces the proactivity construct to the auditing literature, demonstrates that distinct proactive auditing behaviors have common determinants, responds to concerns that auditor proactivity is sometimes lacking, and contributes to the broader literature on proactivity by providing causal evidence about how determinants of proactivity interact.

Authors

• Mark Peecher, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

• Michael Ricci, University of Florida

• Dan Zhou, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign