Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how firms can enhance feedback systems by studying the effects of offering junior auditors an opportunity to provide upward feedback and acknowledging their voice has been heard and will be considered for evaluation purposes. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a 2 × 1 + 1 (voice confirmation × opportunity + no opportunity) between-subjects experimental design that manipulated upward feedback opportunity (i.e., opportunity or no opportunity) and voice confirmation for those that do receive upward feedback opportunity (i.e., receive indication upward feedback was heard and will be considered or receive no indication upward feedback was heard). Within the no upward feedback opportunity condition participants did not have a chance to receive voice confirmation. Findings Through analysis of 117 upper-division undergraduate accounting students, the authors find the receipt of upward feedback opportunity and voice confirmation positively influence justice perceptions. Furthermore, the authors find interactional justice is positively associated with organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB), negatively associated with counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) and mediates the association between upward feedback voice confirmation and both OCB and CWB through indirect-only mediation. The authors also find distributive justice facilitates competitive and indirect-only mediation between upward feedback opportunity and OCB and CWB. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the influence of giving staff auditors the opportunity to provide upward feedback and informing upward feedback providers (e.g., staff) their voice has been heard and will be considered for evaluation purposes.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of auditor alternative work arrangement (AWA) participants’ and non-participants’ perceptions of procedural and distributive justice on organizational commitment. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 110 auditors in the USA, this study uses a regression model to explore how AWA participants’ and non-participants’ perceptions of procedural and distributive justice affect organizational commitment. Findings As predicted, results show both participants’ and non-participants’ perceptions of procedural justice significantly affect organizational commitment. However, neither groups’ perceptions of distributive justice significantly affect their organizational commitment. Originality/value Organizational justice literature has shown that procedural and distributive justice influence organizational commitment. However, no study has controlled for AWA participation. The authors extend research by investigating the effects of procedural and distributive justice perceptions on organizational commitment for both participants and non-participants. The authors also extend accounting research that has narrowly examined AWA benefits and drawbacks, support, viability and perceptions of subordinate career success. Furthermore, there is limited AWA auditing research and this study offers a view prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Distance education allows educators, with the use of technology, to deliver curriculum to students who are separated from their instructors. As higher education evolves, enrollment in distance education continues to present challenges of academic dishonesty. Proctoring services can provide educators with a practical and cost effective approach to reduce academic dishonesty in accounting programs. This study examines the effects of online proctoring programs on students’ exam performance in an online accounting course. Our findings show lower exam performance when proctoring services are used, consistent with a reduction in academic dishonesty. More importantly, we show that proctoring affects lower performing students’ exam performance more than higher performing students. These results have implications for accounting faculty in designing accounting courses, which can be delivered through a distance learning approach while maintaining the academic integrity and rigor demanded by the accounting profession.

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In public accounting, the performance evaluation process involves assessing and communicating feedback to employees. In the financial statement audit setting, in particular, supervisors provide feedback to subordinates frequently throughout a fiscal year. Prior research finds that performance evaluations are based largely on the subordinate's work outcomes, such as task completion and budgeted hours, and also are related to employee satisfaction/dissatisfaction and an increase/decrease in overall job performance. Utilizing psychology theories, we investigate whether a manager's feedback tone (supportive/non‐supportive) and evaluation focus (tasks/goals) influence auditors’ self‐esteem as well as their corresponding professional skepticism, including their search for evidence. Based on an experiment with 118 experienced auditors, we find that supportive and goal‐focused performance evaluations, independently, lead to higher self‐esteem. This elevated self‐esteem translates into desirable auditor attributes, such as greater professional skepticism and an increase in search for evidence and audit quality. Our results are valuable to practice, as firms attempt to train and retain their employees through the performance evaluation process.