Knowledge transfer among experts: lessons from audit partner rotation

Abstract

Given the complexity of the transfer of tacit knowledge, the presence of robust knowledge transfer practices are particularly critical when experts transfer knowledge to other experts (e.g., when companies newly-appoint members of the board of directors, or during the succession of key executives). Accounting firms are unique in that in many jurisdictions partners assigned to audit publicly-traded companies are mandated to periodically rotate their client engagement responsibilities, and these rotations in the US have become more frequent following passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The purpose of this study is to learn more about the knowledge transfer practices of partner-experts in public accounting firms to better understand this critical element of the audit process. As similar between-expert knowledge transfer techniques may be appropriate for use in other business contexts, lessons learned from audit partner rotation may help to mitigate knowledge transfer risks in other organisations.