Title: Audit team competence, auditor motivation and audit quality threatening behaviour

Authors: Alice Annelin

Addresses: Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, 901 87, Sweden

Abstract: This study examines the association between audit team competence and individual auditor motivation with audit quality threatening behaviours (AQTBs). The eight AQTB can influence audit quality and audit errors. Determinants of auditor behaviour are thus considered important. Practising audit teams at a Big-4 audit firm took part in a questionnaire survey to provide their perceptions of their team experience on one specific engagement. The analysis shows that team competence and individual intrinsic motivation are negatively related to AQTB, while extrinsic motivation is positively related to AQTBs. Also, individual intrinsic and extrinsic motivations moderate the relationship between team competence and AQTB. Thus, individual auditors can influence the team's AQTB depending on their motivation, which indicates that interventions can decrease AQTB. Contributions include evidence about audit competence at a team level (team competence) and individual motivation, determinants that are of concern to regulators, clients, and audit firms.

Keywords: audit team; team competence; intrinsic/extrinsic motivation; AQTB; audit quality threatening behaviour.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAAPE.2024.138476

International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, 2024 Vol.20 No.3/4, pp.368 - 398

Received: 09 Mar 2023
Accepted: 10 Sep 2023
Published online: 07 May 2024 *

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