A value to voice? An examination of auditor upward feedback
ISSN: 0268-6902
Article publication date: 28 March 2024
Issue publication date: 14 May 2024
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors examine auditor upward feedback, which provides a unique opportunity for staff auditors to exercise their voice within an audit firm. Upward feedback can improve employee perceptions of fairness and justice while mitigating feelings of burnout and turnover intentions, thus enhancing audit quality. However, it is unclear which circumstances improve the likelihood that auditors will use their voice and give feedback to superiors. The purpose of this study is to investigate contextual factors that impact the likelihood that auditors will provide upward feedback.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a 2 × 2 + 2 experiment with staff auditors, the authors test the likelihood of giving feedback when presented with different feedback systems (electronic anonymous, face-to-face or no opportunity) and experiences with managers (favorable or unfavorable).
Findings
The authors find that, while feedback type alone does not change the likelihood of auditors providing upward feedback, auditors are more likely to provide feedback after a favorable manager experience than an unfavorable one. The likelihood of providing feedback after an unfavorable experience is higher, however, when the feedback type is electronic and anonymous as opposed to face-to-face. Additional analyses illustrate strong relationships between manager experience, feedback type and procedural justice, which significantly influence the turnover intentions of staff auditors.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors are the first to examine the value of subordinates’ upward feedback on firm outcomes, including burnout and turnover intention.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank workshop participants at University of Massachusetts Amherst, DePaul University, as well as Lindsay Andiola, David Herda, Greg Jenkins, and Yvette Lopez for their helpful comments and suggestions. They are also grateful to the auditors and firms who participated in their study and helped with the development of our experimental materials; this study would have been impossible without them.
Data availability: Data are available from the authors upon request.
Citation
Gimbar, C., Saucedo, G. and Wright, N. (2024), "A value to voice? An examination of auditor upward feedback", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 321-343. https://doi.org/10.1108/MAJ-01-2023-3802
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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