The triggers and consequences of audit team stress: Qualitative evidence from engagement teams

Abstract

This study investigates audit team stress, its triggers and consequences to provide qualitative evidence about what audit team stress is and how its triggers and consequences can influence team stress and audit quality. Audit teams in three different audit firms, including different audit team ranks, discussed team stress experiences from one specific engagement during group and individual interviews. Audit work can be stressful, and its consequences can threaten audit quality. Additionally, shared team stress differs from individual personal stress. This research discusses how audit team stress, its triggers and consequences can occur at an interteam stress level, when all team members experience the same stress, and at an intrateam stress level, when individuals feel stress from a team experience. Contributions are made to audit literature and practitioners about audit experiences at a team level and its influence on audit quality, including new insights about time budget pressures and auditor affect.

Effects of organizational climate, role clarity, turnover intention, and workplace burnout on audit quality and performance

“…Auditors face excessive workloads when they are confronted with various audit tasks for diverse types of clients to complete in a predetermined period with limited resources and work environment capabilities (Danudoro et al , 2021). Most of the research studies found evidence that role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload have significant effects on burnout (Cropanzano et al , 2003; Fogarty and Kalbers, 2006; Guthrie and Jones, 2012; Shbail, 2018 Annelin and Svanström, 2022). However, Zulaikha and Istiqomah (2021) did not find evidence of the effect of role ambiguity and role overload on burnout.…”

“…The problems and challenges affecting auditors during the pandemic lead to a feeling of increased emotional exhaustion among auditors in many audit firms. The accounting literature claims higher job turnover, poor job performance and dissatisfaction as major consequences of burnout for both auditors and audit firms (Herda and Lavelle, 2012; Annelin and Svanström, 2022).…”

“…The problems and challenges affecting auditors during the pandemic lead to a feeling of increased emotional exhaustion among auditors in many audit firms. The accounting literature claims higher job turnover, poor job performance and dissatisfaction as major consequences of burnout for both auditors and audit firms (Herda and Lavelle, 2012;Annelin and Svanström, 2022). Stovall and Stovall (2009) argue that the accounting profession does not rely on the preliminary knowledge of accounting but requires more enhanced skills like leadership and communication by audit firms' employees in addition to their qualifications.…”

“…2. Literature review and hypotheses development 2.1 Turnover intentions, organizational climate, role clarity and auditor burnout Burnout and fatigue were studied extensively in a variety of research literature (Jackson et al, 1986;Lee and Ashforth, 1993;Sweeney and Summers, 2002;Cropanzano et al, 2003; Audit quality and performance Herda and Lavelle, 2012;Detzen and Gold, 2021;Annelin and Svanström, 2022). There are three dimensions to job burnout and fatigue: emotional fatigue; low personal achievement; and depersonalization.…”

Audit team equality and audit quality threatening behaviour

“…For example, audit firms that focus on the client rather than efficiency are more likely to conduct AQTB (Johansen and Christoffersen, 2017), and auditors in firms with a high-level quality control and review process engage in less AQTB (Malone and Roberts, 1996). However, little is known about how audit team characteristics can influence AQTB (Annelin and Svanström, 2021).…”