Does task-specific knowledge improve audit quality: Evidence from audits of income tax accounts

Abstract

Two forms of expertise can influence audit quality: industry and task-specific expertise. If tax knowledge is predominately task-specific, audit offices with increased exposure to complex tax issues will develop tax task-specific expertise. Using outcomes related to income tax account audits, we examine whether tax task-specific knowledge (TSK) accumulates at the audit office level and affects the income tax accounts’ audit quality. We find that tax TSK increases the income tax accounts' audit quality, suggesting individual tax TSK accumulates at the office level. Additionally, semi-structured interviews of partners/senior managers at Big 4 audit firms validate group information processing as a theory that explains TSK developing at the office level and confirms that tax knowledge is predominately task-specific with some industry-specific knowledge. We contribute to and extend the literature examining audit office expertise by providing evidence that exposure to complex tax issues develops TSK at the office level and enhances audit quality. These findings provide archival and qualitative evidence of how TSK develops at the office level.