The Effect of Skills-Based Versus Nonskilled Community Service on Auditor Behavior

• In Event: Auditing

Abstract

In an experiment with practicing auditors from a Big 4 firm, we replicate prior research demonstrating a moral licensing effect for nonskilled community service engagement, and we extend this research by documenting a moral consistency effect for skills-based community service engagement. Relative to a control group, auditors who committed to a nonskilled (skills-based) community service project became more (less) willing to acquiesce to a client’s preferred accounting treatment. Our research suggests that skills-based community service may not only mitigate potential unintended consequences of employee community service but could even improve auditor decision making and audit quality. Further, skills-based volunteering could minimize dysfunctional audit behavior.

Authors

• Michael Killey, University of Michigan Dearborn

• Matthew J. Hayes, University of Nevada-Reno