Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
addClaim

Auditor Automation Usage and Professional Skepticism

Authors: Peters, Christian P. H.;

Auditor Automation Usage and Professional Skepticism

Abstract

Audit firms increasingly employ automated tools and techniques in auditing procedures. The premise of using automation is that it increases audit effectiveness and audit efficiency. For these effectiveness and efficiency gains to materialize, auditors need to use automation in an adequate manner. Regulators, however, have raised concerns that auditors may over- or under-rely on automation. I predict that auditors are subject to an automation bias and use cues from automated tools and techniques as a replacement for vigilant information seeking, thereby reducing professional skepticism when relying on automation. My findings are in line with my predictions. When auditors rely on work conducted by automated tools and techniques, they are less skeptical than when relying on the same work conducted by an audit team member. Based on psychology theory, I employ a counterarguing mindset intervention that alleviates the negative effects of automation on professionally skepticism. Finally, I also test whether a reduction in vigilance caused by automation usage spills over to subsequent tasks. I do not find evidence indicating a spillover effect. Implications for practice and theory are discussed.

Country
Netherlands
Related Organizations
Keywords

behavioral mindsets, professional skepticism, audititing, automation

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    5
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
5
Top 10%
Average
Top 10%
Related to Research communities
Upload OA version
Are you the author of this publication? Upload your Open Access version to Zenodo!
It’s fast and easy, just two clicks!