Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: We study whether auditors feel anxiety stemming from detection risk in their work and the consequences of anxiety for job satisfaction and job retention. Our survey of Finnish auditors and exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors we label Productive Anxiety and Unproductive Anxiety, which explain anxiety related to detection risk. We suggest that Productive Anxiety is typical in the auditing profession and helps cope with detection risk. However, Unproductive Anxiety represents personal anxiety that may involve elements of fear of the consequences of audit failure and undermine the intentions to remain in the audit field. We applied structural equation modelling and found a negative mediation effect from Unproductive Anxiety on job retention via lower job satisfaction. The open answers in our survey were also qualitatively analysed, and the survey findings and possible implications were discussed with a professional auditor.
Source: Accounting in Europe
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4415309627