Coaching Today’s Auditors: What Causes Reviewers to Adopt a more Developmental Approach

Audit workpaper review is a quality control mechanism intended to detect preparer errors in the short-term and professionally develop preparers in the long-term. How contextual factors in the current audit environment motivate reviewers to professionally develop (or not develop) their preparers is unclear. Furthermore, whether the error detection and professional development tasks complement or compete is unknown. In this study, we investigate whether the preparer’s office affiliation (local versus international) and the likelihood of preparer recurrence affect whether reviewers focus on professional development in their review approach. We find that reviewers adopt a more developmental approach when reviewing workpapers completed by local preparers. We also observe that, regardless of office affiliation, reviewers are apt to adopt a more developmental approach when preparers are likely to recur. Results indicate that reviewers who adopt a more developmental approach exhibit greater coaching in their review comments and are also more likely to detect preparers’ errors. In addition, reviewers who emphasize professional development in their review comments perceive it benefits not only the preparer, but themselves and the audit engagement.