Auditor Skepticism in the Virtual Environment: Has the Pandemic Left Auditors Worse Off?

Abstract

In this study, we examine how the COVID-19 pandemic (pandemic, hereafter) and the associated shift to remote auditing disrupted the apprenticeship model. More specifically, we explore how diminished social interaction in a remote work setting affects auditors’ ability to exercise PS and related audit outcomes. To examine our research questions, we conducted a phenomenological study that focused on auditors’ lived experiences working in a remote environment (Gibbons and Qu 2005; Moustakas 1994). Our analyses rely on semi-structured interviews with 39 audit professionals employed by global network firms. We also analyze the PCAOB inspection reports for inspection years 2020 through 2023 to understand whether the challenges we identified in our interviews have implications for one measure of audit quality (e.g., Christensen, Glover and Omer 2016). Our findings identify the pathways through which auditors sought to simulate in-person social interactions in the remote environment to ensure high audit quality and situational determinants of the impacted auditors’ perceived ability to exercise sufficient professional skepticism. Our study extends prior research by providing contextual factors that influence auditor-client interactions and how remote work can enhance or exacerbate any tensions in these interactions.