Who Makes it to the Top? - Determinants of Career Success in the Auditing Profession

• In Event: Audit Profession

Abstract

This study examines determinants of career success in the auditing profession. Building on sociologic theory, we argue that not only individual characteristics but also job specific attributes influence career success. Previous literature focuses on selected determinants of promotions using data from interviews, surveys, or field-studies, we analyze promotions using a comprehensive framework and archival data from a business-oriented social networking service. We examine both characteristics of auditors at different career levels and determinants of partner promotions in Big 4 audit firms. We find that most auditors leave the auditing profession at the manager level. In addition, we provide evidence that partners are more likely to be male and competitive, earn more audit fees and audit more prestigious clients compared to non-partners. We also show that networking and client management skills are important for partner promotions. In contrast, we find little evidence that academic, foreign-, and non-audit experience influence career success.

Authors

• Benedikt Downar, TU Munich

• Christopher Koch, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

• Juergen Ernstberger, TU Munich