Christian Peters - FAR

Christian Peters

Assistant Professor

Christian Peters is an Assistant Professor of Accounting and Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research examines how technology and data are transforming the accounting profession, with a particular focus on judgment and decision-making in auditing and the impact of emerging technologies such as generative AI. He also studies corporate tax avoidance and its broader economic implications.Christian earned his PhD in Accounting (cum laude) from Tilburg University, where he also completed a BSc in International Business Administration, an MSc in Accounting, and an MPhil in Business. Before joining UW–Madison, he was an Assistant Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and a visiting researcher at Emory University.His work has been published in leading journals, including Accounting, Organizations and Society and Contemporary Accounting Research, and featured in outlets such as the Financial Times. At UW–Madison, he teaches Foundations in Accounting Analytics, helping students develop the analytical mindset and technical skills needed for a data-driven profession

Has audit quality in the Netherlands improved over time?

The quality of statutory audits in the Netherlands has been the subject of heated debate for several years. The government, audit firms, the Dutch Professional Body of Accountants (NBA), and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) have all announced far-reaching improvement measures to enhance audit quality. This raises the question of the current state of audit quality in the Netherlands and how it has developed over recent years. Audit quality is a complex and multifaceted concept that consists of input, process, and outcome levels. This study focuses on the outcome level of statutory audits: the financial reporting quality of the audited financial statements. It does so using a widely applied measure from academic literature: discretionary accruals. Results show that the outcome quality of statutory audits of listed companies significantly improved during the period 2000–2018.

Auditor automation usage and professional skepticism

Audit firms increasingly use automated tools and techniques to conduct structured audit tasks. As a result, auditors’ role shifts from preparing workpapers to reviewing and validating the work conducted by the automation. Amid these developments, regulators have expressed concerns that auditors may rely too heavily on automated outputs, which could potentially lead to behavioral biases and reductions in audit effectiveness. Using an experiment with 119 professional auditors, I predict and find that auditors are subject to automation bias – the tendency to use automated cues as a heuristic replacement for vigilant information seeking and processing. Specifically, I find that auditors reduce effort and are less effective in reviewing work conducted by automated tools compared to reviewing identical work conducted by a human colleague. To alleviate the negative effects of automation on reviewer effectiveness, I employ a theory-driven counterarguing mindset intervention. Consistent with my predictions, I find that this intervention alleviates the reductions in effort and effectiveness induced by automation. Additionally, this study also investigates whether the reduction in effectiveness caused by automation spills over to unrelated subsequent tasks, in which no automation is used. The results do not display any spillover effects.

Auditing: Lifelong learning

It is essential that auditors continuously learn. The need for continuous learning is fostered by the changing expectations from society and stakeholders, rapid technological developments, and the increasing complexity of information systems. Auditing regulators and oversight bodies are concerned that certain aspects of the auditing profession may form barriers to effective learning. To gain a better insight in how auditors can effectively learn, it is important to identify and distinguish the different learning processes in the auditing profession. Based on our recent literature review we differentiate between seven learning processes. In this FAR Practice Note, we highlight the most important insights from the academic literature for each learning process. Based on this, stakeholders can develop tools to facilitate auditor learning processes in practice.

Accountancy: Een leven lang leren (NL)

Het is essentieel dat accountants voortdurend leren. De noodzaak om continu te blijven leren neemt verder toe door de veranderende verwachtingen van maatschappij en stakeholders, snelle technologische evoluties en de toenemende complexiteit van informatiesystemen. Externe toezichthouders spreken echter de zorg uit dat bepaalde factoren het leren van accountants in de weg staan. Om een beter inzicht te krijgen in hoe accountants leren is het belangrijk om de verschillende leerprocessen in het accountantsberoep te onderscheiden. Op basis van recent literatuuronderzoek onderscheiden wij zeven leerprocessen. In deze Practice Note lichten wij per leerproces de belangrijkste bevindingen uit de wetenschappelijke literatuur toe. Op basis hiervan kunnen praktische handvatten worden ontwikkeld om deze leerprocessen te verbeteren.

Learning in the auditing profession: A framework and future directions

Drawing on literature in auditing and workplace learning, this paper develops the Auditor Learning Framework. The Auditor Learning Framework distinguishes auditor learning processes along two dimensions: the location of learning (on-the-engagement or off-the-engagement) and the role of the others in the learning process (active or passive). We review the auditing literature and classify papers that directly or indirectly enhance our knowledge of auditor workplace learning into our framework to identify gaps in our understanding of the auditor learning processes. Our study provides a comprehensive view of auditor learning processes and provides suggestions for future research. This is the final draft. The article is published in Accounting, Organizations and Society. The article is written by Bart Dierynck, Kathryn Kadous, and Christian Peters. Please find the article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361368223001058

Auditor task prioritization: the effects of time pressure and psychological ownership

The authors study how auditors prioritize their tasks and how differential task prioritization affects auditors’ judgment performance. We leverage Conservation of Resources theory to build our predictions and test these predictions using three experiments with over 350 professional auditors. The first two experiments focus on investigating whether task prioritization affects auditors’ judgment performance. Across two settings, the authors manipulate task order and find that prioritizing an easy task leads to lower judgment performance than prioritizing a difficult task. In their third experiment, the authors gave auditors discretion over task ordering and find that they tend to prioritize easy tasks over difficult tasks. Easy task prioritization is further exacerbated under higher time pressure and is least prevalent in conditions where time pressure is lower and psychological ownership is enhanced.

Learning in the auditing profession: a framework and future direction

Drawing on literature in auditing and workplace learning, this paper develops the Auditor Learning Framework. The Auditor Learning Framework distinguishes auditor learning processes along two dimensions: the location of learning (on-the-engagement or off-the-engagement) and the role of the others in the learning process (active or passive). We review the auditing literature and classify papers that directly or indirectly enhance our knowledge of auditor workplace learning into our framework to identify gaps in our understanding of the auditor learning processes. Our study provides a comprehensive view of auditor learning processes and provides suggestions for future research.

The first decade of the FAR: past, present and future

This commemorative booklet marks the tenth anniversary of the Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR). It reflects on FAR’s journey as a unique platform where academic research and audit practice meet to advance audit quality. The publication highlights:

FAR’s Mission and Impact: How FAR evolved from an ambition into a reality, fostering collaboration between researchers and practitioners through access to real-world audit data.
Insights from Leadership: An interview with founding academic director Jan Bouwens and his successor Anna Gold on FAR’s achievements, challenges, and future priorities.
Research Highlights: Four featured studies on topics such as auditors’ commercial efforts, student expectations versus auditor experiences, data analytics and professional skepticism, and learning within audit teams.
Key Figures and Projects: An overview of FAR’s outputs, including practice notes, masterclasses, conferences, and a growing portfolio of research projects.

The booklet not only looks back with pride but also outlines ambitions for the future of strengthening knowledge transfer, increasing practical usability of research, and deepening engagement across audit firms and academia.

Human Capital Development in Auditing: A Qualitative Study of Learning Mechanisms, Challenges, and Differences across Audit Firms

Human capital is the most crucial input in auditing. While auditors possess skills and competencies when entering the audit firm, on-the-job learning is crucial for the further development of human capital. While prior research has typically focused on one specific learning mechanism, there is a lack of a comprehensive and holistic view of how learning currently manifests in the audit practice. Using 23 semi-structured interviews, this study provides an overview of key learning practices in audit firms, the differences in learning practices between audit firms of different sizes, and barriers to learning in audit firms. This study helps researchers to understand the institutional setting of learning in audit firms and to identify future avenues for research. Furthermore, this study helps practitioners in identifying barriers to learning that may warrant attention.

Narrowing the Expectations-Reality Gap in Auditing: Implications for Recruiting and Developing the Next Generation of Auditors

Audit firms across jurisdictions face a persistent and increasingly acute challenge in attracting and retaining early-career audit talent. A commonly cited explanation for this trend is that today’s students and junior professionals are less willing to accept the demanding working conditions traditionally associated with auditing. While workload and work-life balance undoubtedly play an important role, this explanation implicitly assumes that students possess an accurate understanding of what early-career audit work actually entails. We argue that this assumption is questionable. Drawing on evidence from our recent Accounting Horizons study (Dierynck, Marangoni, Peters, and Weijers 2025), we suggest that an important, but underappreciated, driver of the audit talent shortage is an expectations-reality gap: a systematic mismatch between what students believe the junior auditor role involves and what junior auditors actually experience in practice. Understanding this gap is critical for audit practice. If students base their career decisions on inaccurate or overly pessimistic beliefs about audit work, firms may lose potential entrants before recruitment efforts can meaningfully engage them. Moreover, misaligned expectations at entry may contribute to early dissatisfaction and turnover, further weakening the talent pipeline.

Tien jaar Foundation for Auditing Research verleden, heden en toekomst

De Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR) viert haar tienjarig jubileum. Ter gelegenheid van deze bijzondere mijlpaal presenteren wij met trots deze jubileumpublicatie. In het afgelopen decennium is FAR uitgegroeid tot een uniek platform waar gedegen academisch onderzoek en de accountantspraktijk op een constructieve en waardevolle manier samenkomen. Wat FAR bijzonder maakt, is niet alleen de toegang tot rijke, praktijkgerichte auditdata, maar vooral de voortdurende dialoog tussen onderzoekers en accountants. Dit boekje laat zien hoe FAR deze samenwerking tot leven brengt. Het bevat een interview met de vertrekkende academic director Jan Bouwens en zijn opvolger Anna Gold. Hun reflecties bieden zowel een persoonlijke als institutionele kijk op de ontwikkeling van FAR in de afgelopen tien jaar en de koers die voor de toekomst is uitgezet. Het interview laat zien hoe FAR’s missie, het dichter bij elkaar brengen van wetenschap en praktijk, is uitgegroeid van een ambitie tot een alledaagse realiteit, en benadrukt tegelijkertijd waar nog verdere stappen gezet kunnen, en moeten, worden. Om de gemeenschappelijke basis tussen wetenschap en praktijk te illustreren, bevat dit boekje daarnaast vier projectbeschrijvingen. Elke beschrijving belicht kort een FAR-gerelateerde studie, gevolgd door het perspectief van een onderzoeker en een reflectie van een praktijkprofessional. Deze bijdragen onderstrepen dat FAR-onderzoek een vorm van co-creatie is: niet over de praktijk, maar samen met de praktijk.

The Expectations-Reality Gap in Auditing – A Comparison of Student Expectations and Auditor Experiences

The findings of the study reveal that students consistently misjudge key aspects of the junior auditor role: they underestimate attractive features – such as intellectual challenge, client interaction, and autonomy – and overestimate less appealing features, including repetitiveness and overtime. Moreover, a larger expectations-reality gap for job content and organizational culture significantly decreases students’ likelihood of pursuing an audit career. Our results highlight the need to improve the accuracy of student expectations to help address the audit talent shortage.

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