Robyn Moroney and Peter Carey
SUMMARY: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relative influence of industryand
task-based experience on auditor performance. Prior research has shown that both
forms of experience can be beneficial, but studies thus far have not clarified their relative
importance. Non-specialist auditor participants are used as they gain task experience
across a range of industries, making it possible to disentangle the impact of each on
performance. The literature indicates that the knowledge gained from industry-based
experience can be applied to unfamiliar tasks set within a familiar industry context.
Results from a behavioral experiment indicate that, as expected, industry-based
experience has a more significant impact on auditor performance than task-based
experience. Performance gains through industry experience are found to occur quickly
and then level out. Reported results have implications for audit staff allocations to
optimize auditor performance.
Keywords: audit quality; industry-based experience; task-based experience.
JEL Classifications: M42.
Data Availability: Data and the tasks used in this study are available on request