Professional Auditing Research

Professional Auditing Research

Providing a model for auditors' coherent self-knowledge and its reflection on audit quality-reducing behaviors

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
davood hoseinpour 1
Abolfazl Momeni Yanesari 2
ali khozein 3
mansour garkaz 1
hossein aryaeinezhad 1
1 Department of accounting, Go.C., Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran
2 Assistant professor of Accounting, Department of Administrative and Economics, Faculty of Humanities & Physical Education, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad, IRAN.
3 Department of Accounting, Ali.C., Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran
10.22034/jpar.2026.2078700.1484
Abstract
In the challenging environment of the auditing profession, where maintaining quality and observing professional standards are considered essential pillars of public trust, it is of particular importance to identify the factors affecting auditors' professional behaviors. Understanding this necessity, this study examines the relationship between coherent self-knowledge as a deep psychological construct and audit quality-reducing behaviors. The main objective of this study is to explain the mechanisms through which coherent self-knowledge can act as a deterrent against quality-reducing behaviors and ultimately lead to improving the quality level of audit services. In this study, content analysis was used to determine the dimensions of auditors' coherent self-knowledge based on a review of previous studies and interviews with experts, and then data on this variable was collected through a researcher-made questionnaire. A standard questionnaire was also used to measure audit quality-reducing behaviors. In addition, structural equation modeling using partial least squares (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research hypothesis. In the qualitative part, 14 academic experts and audit professors with professional experience in the field of auditing participated in the interview, and the participants in the quantitative part, to test the research hypothesis, included 392 auditors working in the audit organization and private sector institutions in the first half of 1404. The results of the present study indicated 4 overarching themes (professional cognitive structures, individual disciplinary requirements, role perceptions in the financial ecosystem, and intrinsic motivational frameworks), 11 organizing themes (auditors' analytical insight, professional judgment frameworks, coherent self-assessment mechanisms, operational discipline, professional ethics, commitment to continuous development, professional positioning, hierarchical interactions, auditor social responsibility, psychological triggers, and cognitive-emotional balance), and 59 basic themes. Next, in order to measure the reliability of the identified organizing themes, to explain them in the context of auditors' coherent self-knowledge, Delphi analysis was used, and based on the average evaluation of the first and second phases of Delphi, it was determined that all dimensions were confirmed. The results of the research hypothesis showed that auditors' coherent self-knowledge has a negative and significant effect on behaviors that reduce audit quality. This study adds to the behavioral auditing literature by providing a comprehensive model that explains the role of integrative self-awareness in reducing quality-reducing behaviors. The findings provide the professional community with new insights into the psychological mechanisms that influence audit quality.
Keywords
Audit quality-reducing behaviors
integrative self-awareness
cognitive constructs
individual requirements and perceptions
motivational framework
Subjects
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