The Effects of Auditor Gender on Audit Quality

Diane Breesch and Joël Branson

The IUP Journal of Accounting Research and Audit Practices, 2009, vol. VIII, issue 3-4, 78-107

Abstract: From the existing literature, it appears that gender has a significant influence on the manner in which information is collected and processed. Gender also appears to have a significant effect on the risk profile. This paper examines the effects of auditor gender on audit report and audit opinion. Only a limited number of studies have investigated gender differences in an audit context. The paper tests its hypotheses on the basis of a laboratory experiment in which it analyzes the final written exams of 20 female and 20 male future auditors. The findings suggest that women auditors discover more potential misstatements than male auditors, though they analyze the misstatements in a less accurate manner than male auditors. The findings also indicate that women auditors are more risk-averse than male auditors. Implications on auditor choice by companies, assignment of personnel to audit teams, and quality control issues are also discussed in the paper.

Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:icf:icfjar:v:08:y:2009:i:3-4:p:78-107

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