Bridging the gap in talent: A framework for interdisciplinary research on autism spectrum disorder persons in accounting and information systems

Abstract

The accounting profession continues to face a talent shortage. In addition, the skills and demands of accountants continue to evolve as technology changes. At the same time, many autism spectrum disorder (ASD) persons remain unemployed or underemployed. Companies, including the Big 4, have begun hiring programs looking at a diverse set of individuals, including ASD persons. General anecdotes suggest ASD persons are thriving in terms of innovation, efficiency, and productivity. While neurotypical (NT) persons have been shown in multiple studies to rely on simple heuristics, which reduce judgment quality, we argue that there are neuropsychological differences in visual perception and attention that play a vital role in why ASD persons may be less susceptible to heuristics and biases; hence, increasing judgment quality. This paper presents an interdisciplinary research framework that adapts the human information processor model of cognition to bring together the judgment and decision-making, autism, and neuropsychological literatures to focus on areas where ASD persons may have judgment-related advantages over NT persons. We discuss the framework and present example research questions for two areas where ASD accountants are performing tasks: cybersecurity and software development. Our framework presents a guide for future empirical research where accounting academics can lead an interdisciplinary effort to support company inclusion programs of ASD persons and, more broadly, of neurodivergent persons.