The impact of cultural environment on entry-level auditors’ abilities to perform analytical procedures

• Published in: Journal of international accounting, auditing & taxation auditing & taxation, 2009, Vol.18 (1), p.29-43
• Main Authors: Hughes, Susan B., Sander, James F., Higgs, Scott D., Cullinan, Charles P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accountants; Accounting education; Analytical procedures; Auditing; Auditing procedures; Auditors; Balance sheets; Cultural dimensions; Cultural environment; Culture; Impact analysis; Individualism; International auditing; Power; Professional judgment; Professionalism; Risk; Risk assessment; Studies; Uncertainty
• ISSN: 1061-9518; 1879-1603
• DOI: 10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2008.12.004

We focus on the impact of three of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism, on the results of analytical procedures conducted by entry-level auditors in Mexico and the U.S. Analytical procedures are ideal for this research as they require auditors to use professional judgment and appropriate levels of professional skepticism, abilities related to all three cultural characteristics. We find no other study investigating the impact of culture on the application of auditing procedures similar across the studied cultures. We find cultural characteristics do not affect the participants’ abilities to predict income statement balances, but they may influence the ability to predict changes in balance sheet accounts. We also find culture is associated with differences in risk assessments. Our results indicate that participants rarely differentiate accounts that change according to expectation from those that change contrary to expectation, but rather alter their risk assessments to match the direction of balances that increase or decrease.