Auditor work and its outcomes: An application of the job characteristics model to large public accounting firms

Abstract

The job content of audit staff positions is thought to contribute to organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, which in turn affect the formation of human capital in the accounting profession. A reliable measure of auditors' perceptions of job content aids both accounting professionals and researchers in assessing issues and measuring changes related to job design and the generic characteristics of audit staff positions. This paper uses insights from research in organizational behavior to evaluate auditing positions from a new perspective. The Job Characteristics Model is used to examine their nature and content as well as to explore the relationship of job content to job outcomes and related implications for audit firms. This study uses confirmatory factor analysis to assess the nature and the applicability of the Job Characteristics Model to an auditing context. The study confirms the applicability of the model to audit research, and shows that staff auditors perceive their positions as having several important dimensions that are reflected in the Job Characteristics Model. The results suggest that autonomy and skill variety may represent a single dimension. The study also includes tests of hypotheses relating the five core job dimensions to performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Test results are mixed, showing that individual job characteristics were associated with some, but not all of the work outcomes. The skill variety/autonomy composite dimension and the task significance dimension proved very consequential for these outcomes. Implications for research and practice are drawn.

Citation

Fogarty, T.J. and Uliss, B. (2000), "Auditor work and its outcomes: An application of the job characteristics model to large public accounting firms", Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (Advances in Accounting Behavioural Research, Vol. 3), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 37-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-7979(00)03025-8