The authors’ findings provide public accounting firms with critical factors that can enhance gender equality. Specifically, the findings indicate that (1) firms that offer more support from organizational leaders, (2) firms that provide higher levels of support for alternative work arrangement initiatives, and (3) firms that provide stronger ethical climates are each negatively associated with perceived gender discrimination, suggesting that organizational climate factors have a strong impact on female auditors’ perceptions of gender equality. The findings suggest that female accounting professionals must reach high-status positions within the organizational structure to substantively influence perceptions of gender equality. Public accounting firms should encourage formal and informal mentoring relationships targeting female auditors.
Dalton, D. W., J. R. Cohen, N. L. Harp, and J. J. McMillan. 2014. Antecedents and Consequences of Perceived Gender Discrimination in the Audit Profession. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory 33 (3): 1-32.
This study is important for audit firms because the authors imply that auditors’ cross-cultural differences do not only depend on which culture they come from, but also, on the national context of the countries in which the auditors reside (e.g., legal environment, auditing standards, tax issues) and other environmental factors (e.g., firm culture). By recognizing the effect of the social environment and adopting a dynamic constructionist approach in future auditing research, cross-cultural variation of auditors can be better understood, and audit firms will be better informed when designing intervention techniques to manage these differences affecting audit quality.
For more information on this study, please contact Christine Nolder or Tracey J. Riley.
Nolder, C. and T. J. Riley. 2014. Effects of Differences in National Culture on Auditors’ Judgments and Decisions: A Literature Review of Cross-Cultural Auditing Studies from a Judgment and Decision Making Perspective. Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory 33 (2): 141-164
The findings imply that female auditors may have a constraining effect on earnings management and thus provide higher audit quality. In general, our findings indicate that the behavioral differences between women and men may have important implications for the quality of auditing and financial reporting.
For more information on this study, please contact Kim Ittonen.
Ittonen, K., E. Vähämaa, and S. Vähämaa. 2013. Female Auditors and Accruals Quality. Accounting Horizons 27 (2): 205–228.