EFFECT OF TIME PRESSURE AND PROFESSIONAL SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE JUDGMENT AND DECISION-MAKING OF AUDITORS

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate how the judgment and decision-making of auditors is affected by time pressure and professional skepticism, be it personality trait, mental state, or a combination of these elements. An experiment was carried out with 47 auditors at the beginning of their careers, in which the time pressure for completion of the work in the audited area and the skeptical state of the participants were manipulated. The skeptical trait was measured via the Hurtt scale and logistic regressions (univariate and ordinal) were applied. The results indicate that auditors pressured to complete their work in a shorter time were more likely to perform all audit procedures. The skeptical mental status and professional experience increase the likelihood that the auditor recommending adjustment a distorted book balance and the same occurring when the skeptical state interacts with the time pressure. The skeptical trait interacts with the skeptical state, making the effect of activating the skeptical mental state on evidence gathering to be lower in auditors with more skeptical personality. The results also reinforce the importance of professional skepticism for the quality of the audit and contrast with previous research regarding the threat that time pressure would bring to the sufficiency of audit evidence collection.