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.