The Effects of Perceived Rewards and Political Risk Factors on Audit Partner Motivation to Pursue Governmental Audits

Abstract

Audits are the primary means of monitoring that public funds are appropriately spent by governmental entities, and previous research (O'Keefe and Westort, 1992; Copley and Doucet, 1993) suggests that competition among audit suppliers results in higher quality audits. To better understand the supply of governmental audit services, this study investigates independent audit partner opinions regarding governmental audits and their motivation to pursue public sector audit engagements. Results from multiple regression analyses of questionnaire data provide empirical evidence that partners are more likely to pursue governmental audits if they believe that desirable intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are attainable through performing these audits. Furthermore, environmental risk factors ?? an active political climate and authoritative changes ?? reduce partner motivation to pursue governmental audits. The present results enhance understanding of the governmental audit market and raise questions regarding the future supply of audit services to governmental entities.

JEL Classification: M49, H49, H79