Auditor Skill Demands and Audit Quality: Evidence from Job Postings

Charles Ham (), Rebecca N. Hann (), MaryJane Rabier () and Wenfeng Wang ()
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Charles Ham: Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
Rebecca N. Hann: Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
MaryJane Rabier: Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
Wenfeng Wang: College of Business, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China

Management Science, 2025, vol. 71, issue 7, 5805-5829

Abstract: This study empirically examines the relation between audit quality and auditors’ cognitive and social skills. Using a novel data set of online job postings by accounting firms, we document substantial variation in the stated demand for auditors’ cognitive and social skills, suggesting that audit offices are not homogeneous in their preferences for such skills. We find a positive relation between audit quality and the prevalence of cognitive and social skills within an audit office’s job postings. This association is stronger for audit engagements that are more complex or require greater coordination, suggesting that cognitive and social skills are particularly important in engagements where effective communication and knowledge transfer, as well as sound professional judgment and skepticism, are needed. The association is also stronger for audit offices with greater investments in new technology, consistent with the complementary relation between cognitive and social skills and the use of technology. Overall, our study offers empirical evidence linking specific auditor skills to audit quality.

Keywords: audit quality; auditor skills; job postings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:7:p:5805-5829

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