Experience is fundamental to the attainment of the knowledge that enhances auditor
performance (see, for example, Ashton and Brown 1980). Research undertaken during the late
1980s found that industry-based experience enhanced auditor performance (Bonner and Lewis
1990;Bedard and Biggs 1991a). At the time, Big 8 firms were just beginning to harness the benefits
of industry-based experience by organizing their auditors into industry-specialist teams(Emerson
1993).
More recently a substantial body of research has found that industry-specialist auditors
demonstrate superior performance compared to non-specialist auditors (Solomon et al. 1999;
Owhoso et al. 2002; Low 2004; Hammersley 2006). Task-based experience has also been found to
enhance auditor performance (Libby and Tan 1994; Tan and Kao 1999; Thibodeau 2003).
Unfortunately, the prior studies that have considered both industry- and task-based experience do
not allow for conclusions about the relative importance of industry- and task-based experience
because the industry specialists who were used gained task-based experience mainly in one industry
(see, for example, Thibodeau 2003; Moroney 2007).
Non-specialist auditors work on a range of tasks in a variety of industry settings, giving them
the opportunity to accumulate both industry and task knowledge from that experience. While the
knowledge gained from industry- and task-based experience has been found to enhance auditor
performance, no previous research has specifically investigated their relative benefits using
non-specialist auditors. Prior research has found that industry specialists can benefit from their
specialization in the absence of task-based experience. Moroney (2007)found that industry
specialists without task-based experience can outperform other auditors who have neither industrynor task-based experience in the task. This finding suggests that industry knowledge provides a
context within which auditors can perform relatively well on tasks unfamiliar to them (Biggs et al.
1993). We expect that industry-based experience will have a greater impact on the performance of
non-specialist auditors than task-based experience.
An unresolved question is whether ongoing exposure to clients within a single industry setting
continues to improve auditor performance. Expertise, including industry specialization, has been
characterized as a relative rather than an absolute notion (Be´dard and Chi 1993). Domain-specific
experience is a precursor to the attainment of expertise (Bonner and Lewis 1990; Libby and Luft
1993; Libby 1995). This research suggests that auditors gain more relevant experience as they
move along the continuum from novice to expert. We expect that continued experience in auditing
clients within one industry setting will improve non-specialist auditor performance.
An experiment was conducted in which non-specialist auditors completed two cases: a research
and development case set in the manufacturing industry and an investment case set in the
superannuation ( pension fund) industry. The cases in this study allow us to investigate the relative
influence of industry- and task-based experience on auditor performance in two ways. First, both
cases involve tasks common to companies in a variety of industries. Participants could have
task-based experience, with or without matched industry-based experience, in both cases used. The
cases draw upon task knowledge gained from experience in auditing accounts within or outside the
industry setting used. Second, both cases are set in industry settings where a range of tasks are
performed. Participants could have industry-based experience, with or without matched task-based
experience, in both cases used. The cases used in this study allow auditors with relevant
industry-based experience to utilize the contextual knowledge gained from that experience (Biggs
et al. 1993) to perform well on a task with which they may or may not be familiar.
We find that industry-based experience has a greater impact on auditor performance than
task-based experience, supporting our expectations. Sustained exposure to clients within a single
industry setting initially improves auditor performance and then levels out. This result suggests that
there may be merit in non-specialist auditors having a number of clients across a few industry
settings.