Crossing the Divide – Behavioral Research in Auditing

1. From auditing to culture and behavior: Audit quality is not only about technical compliance but also about auditors’ professional judgment, decision-making, and the cultural context within audit firms. A quality-oriented culture and behavioral governance are essential to restoring trust and improving audit outcomes.
2. From practice to science: The profession needs stronger collaboration between academia and practice. The Foundation for Auditing Research (FAR) exemplifies this by enabling empirical research through unique access to audit firm data, aiming to evidence-inform public policy and professional development.
3. Behavioral research in auditing: This field studies how auditors’ behavior, shaped by personal, task, and environmental factors, affects audit quality. Research focuses on cultural antecedents, leadership, team dynamics, and root cause analysis, using multi-method approaches to develop practical interventions that fit audit firm identity and mitigate judgmental risks.

The address concludes with a call for multidisciplinary research, tested improvement measures, and better knowledge transfer to policymakers and practitioners. It emphasizes that behavioral insights are crucial for safeguarding audit quality in a profession where human judgment remains central.