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Abstract
Research Question: How does Emotional Intelligence influence auditor performance? Motivation: Emotional Intelligence has been researched as one of the critical factors that are linked to superior work performance. However, this research is still in its infancy with respect to auditors despite the fact that the auditing profession would benefit greatly from improving the work performance of its professionals. In this paper, we address this issue and lay the foundation for a future paper that would analyze the impact of increasing the emotional intelligence of auditors on their task performance. We hypothesized that emotional intelligence is positively related to auditor performance. Data: Undergraduate accounting and MBA students were selected to participate in this study. Sixty-nine participants completed the Emotional Intelligence inventory provided by Genos International, Australia and performed a simple audit activity designed by the authors for this study. Multiple regressions were utilized to analyze the data. Findings: The hypothesis was not supported, and the paper addresses this result as well as provides guidance to future researchers in this significant area. Contribution: Because of the challenges associated with this type of experiment as well as the lack of existing research in the area, this paper uses student subjects to provide initial feedback on the effectiveness of the instrument. The results will help guide future research and, as an added benefit, preserves the subject pool of practicing auditors.
Highlights
Today, the academic literature is full of Emotional Intelligence (EI) models
We provide some initial information about the relationship between EI and auditor performance and lay the foundation for a future paper that would analyze the impact of increasing the emotional intelligence awareness of auditors on their task performance
We collected data on EI from undergraduate and MBA students, who served as surrogates for the real-life auditors
Summary
The academic literature is full of Emotional Intelligence (EI) models. EI refers to a person’s ability to understand and use emotions to make decisions. The role of EI in improving task performance has been well-researched in several disciplines, its importance in improving the quality of the audit function has not yet been adequately established. Research is needed on how EI affects the performance of auditors and whether it can/does improve the quality of audit engagements. There is a dearth of accounting literature examining the impact of increasing auditor’s EI on their task performance. This is important to consider especially when the role of EI in other disciplines is well-documented. We believe that a positive relationship between EI and their performance would increase audit clients’ firm value by increasing the likelihood of detecting fraud or mitigating the likelihood of fraud through the strengthening of internal controls. We end with the limitations of the present study and provide directions for future research
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