The Beauty of Auditor Selection: The Effects of Auditor Attractiveness and Auditee Goals on Procuring Governmental Audit Services
Marena M. Messina (Ph.D. Graduate) Jennifer K. Schafer (Dissertation Chair) Chad M. Stefaniak (Committee Second) Hong Qu (Reader)
OVERVIEW
This study examines the impact of auditor attractiveness and auditee goals on hiring decisions within the framework of audit partner selection, using the governmental request for proposal setting. Using 140 participants, the experiment investigates how perceived attractiveness influences recommendations during the auditor hiring process within two audit outcome goals, a meticulous and a procedural audit. Participants were provided an audit partner biography, which contained either a photo that was rated as more attractive, rated as less attractive, or contained no photo. The findings illuminate that attractiveness significantly sways hiring preferences when auditees have procedural audit goals but not when auditee goals are for the audit to provide thorough scrutiny. These results indicate there is a "beauty premium" in auditor selection. There is no discernible penalty for being less attractive compared to when no visual cues are provided. Such insights reveal underlying biases that could potentially compromise audit quality, offering valuable considerations for audit firms, their clients, and regulatory bodies in refining auditor hiring and evaluation practices.
26 | PhD Summaries
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs