Auditor mood and audit quality: evidence from music sentiment measure

Qiao Xu, Lele Chen and Rachana Kalelkar

Pacific Accounting Review, 2024, vol. 36, issue 5, 580-604

Abstract: Purpose - Extant studies propose music sentiment as a novel measure of individuals’ sentiment. These studies argue that individuals’ choice of music reflects their emotional condition in real time and influences their cognitive ability, making it a powerful tool for assessing their mood. This study aims to use music sentiment as a proxy for auditors’ mood and explore its impact on audit quality. Design/methodology/approach - A sample of the US firms from 2017 to 2020 is used in the study. The authors apply the ordinary least squares regressions and the logit regressions to the audit quality models. The authors use absolute discretionary accruals and the propensity to meet or beat earnings forecasts as proxies for audit quality and calculate a stream-weighted average sentiment measure for Spotify’s Top-200 songs of each day during the audit period of a client firm to capture the sentiment of auditors. Findings - The authors find that music sentiment is positively associated with audit quality. The result is consistent with the mood maintenance hypothesis, which suggests that a positive mood can induce auditors to be more careful in risky situations. Furthermore, the result is robust to various sensitivity analyses. Originality/value - The study contributes to the scarce literature that focuses on auditors’ emotional state and highlights the importance of monitoring auditor mindset during the audit period.

Keywords: Discretionary accruals; Audit quality; Auditor mood; Music sentiment; Propensity to meet or beat earnings forecasts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:parpps:par-07-2024-0148

DOI: 10.1108/PAR-07-2024-0148

Access Statistics for this article

Pacific Accounting Review is currently edited by Professor Tom Scott, Dr Pei-Chi Kelly Hsiao, Associate Professor Chelsea Liu, Associate Professor Sophia Su, Associate Professor Thu Phuong Truong and Dr Lily Chen

More articles in Pacific Accounting Review from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().