Future Research Directions at the Intersection Between Cognitive Neuroscience Research and Auditors’ Professional Skepticism

Abstract

This paper addresses how cognitive neuroscience can advance our understanding of auditor professional skepticism (hereafter, PS) in ways that traditional perspectives may not be able to do. Drawing on the literature from cognitive neuroscience and PS research, we identify the following PS research areas potentially improved with neuroscientific perspectives: trust, trait and state skepticism, theory, and deception/fraud detection. We propose research questions under each research area identified using a neuroscientific perspective to help examine and ultimately improve the PS level among auditors. The manuscript concludes by discussing the critical question of whether integrating a neuroscientific perspective into PS research is worthwhile and provides further direction for future research.