Limitations
The behavioral study described in this paper has limitations. The independent variables,
industry-based experience, task-based experience, and extent of industry-based experience, were
self-reported by participants. When measuring industry-based experience, participants were asked
to list the proportion of their time over the prior year spent auditing clients in different industry
settings. While this measure aids in the identification of recent experience, it does not capture
industry-based experience in prior years, underestimating the benefits of industry-based experience.
Task-based experience was measured by asking participants whether they had experience with
each task used in the cases and if so, how recently. This measure does not take into account extent
of task-based experience. Just as participants were found to benefit from greater exposure to clients
in one industry setting, they may have benefited from greater exposure to the same task across a
number of clients. Future research could consider the benefits of greater task-based experience on
auditor performance.