IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/acceur/v13y2016i1p65-79.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Ethical Culture in Audit Firms Support Auditor Objectivity?

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Svanberg
  • Peter Öhman

Abstract

The suggested cause of constrained auditor objectivity has been centred on auditors' financial incentives and long audit tenure. Recent research has challenged those assumptions and questioned the effectiveness of auditor rotation to counteract short-tenure threats to auditor objectivity. Audit firms and regulators need to adopt methods for enhancing auditor objectivity that are effective in various auditor--client relationships. This study examines whether audit firm ethical culture is positively related to auditor objectivity. Based on the responses of 281 practising auditors, the findings indicate that auditors are more likely to make objective judgments in ethical cultures characterized by the rewarding of ethical behaviour and punishment of unethical behaviour, prevalence of ethical norms, visible ethical leadership, and low emphasis on obedience to authority. In conclusion, evidence indicates that auditors in audit firms with a strong ethical culture are more likely to maintain auditor objectivity than are auditors in less supportive cultures. This suggests that audit firms should promote a strong ethical culture to reduce the risk of constrained auditor judgment.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Svanberg & Peter Öhman, 2016. "Does Ethical Culture in Audit Firms Support Auditor Objectivity?," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 65-79, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acceur:v:13:y:2016:i:1:p:65-79
    DOI: 10.1080/17449480.2016.1164324
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/17449480.2016.1164324
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/17449480.2016.1164324?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jan Svanberg & Peter Öhman, 2013. "Auditors' time pressure: does ethical culture support audit quality?," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 28(7), pages 572-591, July.
    2. William E. Shafer & Zhihong Wang, 2010. "Effects of ethical context on conflict and commitment among Chinese accountants," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 25(4), pages 377-400, April.
    3. Windsor, Carolyn A. & Ashkanasy, Neal M., 1995. "The effect of client management bargaining power, moral reasoning development, and belief in a just world on auditor independence," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(7-8), pages 701-720.
    4. Treviño, Linda Klebe & Butterfield, Kenneth D. & McCabe, Donald L., 1998. "The Ethical Context in Organizations: Influences on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 447-476, July.
    5. Svanberg, Jan & Öhman, Peter, 2015. "Auditors' identification with their clients: Effects on audit quality," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 395-408.
    6. Lawrence A. Ponemon, 1992. "Auditor underreporting of time and moral reasoning: An experimental lab study," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(1), pages 171-189, September.
    7. Hun†Tong Tan & Karim Jamal, 2006. "Managing Perceptions of Technical Competence: How Well Do Auditors Know How Others View Them?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(3), pages 761-787, September.
    8. Reynolds, J. Kenneth & Francis, Jere R., 2000. "Does size matter? The influence of large clients on office-level auditor reporting decisions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 375-400, December.
    9. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Jaggi, Bikki, 2009. "Earnings quality: Some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditors' industry expertise," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 265-287, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xingqiang Du & Liang Xiao & Yingjie Du, 2023. "Does CEO–Auditor Dialect Connectedness Trigger Audit Opinion Shopping? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 184(2), pages 391-426, May.
    2. Xiong, Hao & Hou, Fei & Li, Hanwen & Wang, Huabing, 2020. "Does rice farming shape audit quality: Evidence from signing auditors level analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 403-420.
    3. Xingqiang Du, 2019. "Does CEO-Auditor Dialect Sharing Impair Pre-IPO Audit Quality? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 699-735, May.
    4. Hou, Fei & Shen, Huayu & Wang, Ping & Xiong, Hao, 2023. "Signing auditors' cultural background and debt financing costs," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Evangelia Pappa & John Filos, 2019. "Benchmarking the Ethics of Internal Auditors: A Comparative Analysis of Private and Public Sector," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 69(1-2), pages 30-44, January-J.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shafer, William E., 2008. "Ethical climate in Chinese CPA firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(7-8), pages 825-835.
    2. Jan Svanberg & Peter Öhman, 2016. "The effects of time budget pressure, organisational-professional conflict, and organisational commitment on dysfunctional auditor behaviour," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(2), pages 131-150.
    3. Svanberg, Jan & Öhman, Peter & Neidermeyer, Presha E., 2019. "Auditor objectivity as a function of auditor negotiation self-efficacy beliefs," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 121-131.
    4. Garcia-Blandon, Josep & Argiles-Bosch, Josep Maria & Castillo-Merino, David & Martinez-Blasco, Monica, 2017. "An Assessment of the Provisions of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 on Non-audit Services and Audit Firm Tenure: Evidence from Spain," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 251-261.
    5. Astrid Rudyanto, 2017. "Audit Firm Reputation versus Auditor Capability: Their Effect on Audit Quality in Indonesia," GATR Journals afr147, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    6. Natalia M. Mintchik & Timothy A. Farmer, 2009. "Associations Between Epistemological Beliefs and Moral Reasoning: Evidence from Accounting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(2), pages 259-275, January.
    7. Chantal Mangion & Norbert Tabone & Peter J. Baldacchino & Simon Grima, 2021. "Audit Quality and Resilience beyond the Role Stress Model: A Maltese Perspective," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 11(3), pages 37-56.
    8. Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero & Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Emiliano Ruiz‐Barbadillo, 2018. "The quality of sustainability assurance reports: The expertise and experience of assurance providers as determinants," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1181-1196, December.
    9. Breda Sweeney & Don Arnold & Bernard Pierce, 2010. "The Impact of Perceived Ethical Culture of the Firm and Demographic Variables on Auditors’ Ethical Evaluation and Intention to Act Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 531-551, June.
    10. Svanberg, Jan & Öhman, Peter, 2015. "Auditors' identification with their clients: Effects on audit quality," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 395-408.
    11. William Kerler & Larry Killough, 2009. "The Effects of Satisfaction with a Client’s Management During a Prior Audit Engagement, Trust, and Moral Reasoning on Auditors’ Perceived Risk of Management Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 109-136, March.
    12. Neil Crosby & Steven Devaney & Colin Lizieri & Patrick McAllister, 2018. "Can Institutional Investors Bias Real Estate Portfolio Appraisals? Evidence from the Market Downturn," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(3), pages 651-667, February.
    13. Olivier Charpateau, 2007. "Ethique De L'Auditeur Et Capacite A Reveler Une Erreur : Comparaison Des Auditeurs Financiers Et Operationnels," Post-Print halshs-00543243, HAL.
    14. Ulfert Gronewold & Anna Gold & Steven Salterio, 2013. "Reporting Self-Made Errors: The Impact of Organizational Error-Management Climate and Error Type," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 189-208, September.
    15. Keval Amin & John Daniel Eshleman & Peng Guo, 2021. "Investor Sentiment, Misstatements, and Auditor Behavior," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 483-517, March.
    16. Li-Jen He, 2021. "Does Industry Specialist Auditor Provide More Insights in Their audit report? An Empirical Study of Key Audit Matters Section," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 11(5), pages 1-4.
    17. Krista Fiolleau & Steven E. Kaplan, 2017. "Recognizing Ethical Issues: An Examination of Practicing Industry Accountants and Accounting Students," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 259-276, May.
    18. Li, Zhaochu & Lytvynenko, Iryna P. & Philippoff, Karl S., 2021. "Stock market reactions to R&D cuts used to manage earnings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    19. Sweeney, John T. & Roberts, Robin W., 1997. "Cognitive moral development and auditor independence," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(3-4), pages 337-352.
    20. Luippold, Benjamin L. & Kida, Thomas & Piercey, M. David & Smith, James F., 2015. "Managing audits to manage earnings: The impact of diversions on an auditor’s detection of earnings management," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 39-54.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:acceur:v:13:y:2016:i:1:p:65-79. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RAIE20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.