Auditors' narcissism and their professional skepticism: evidence from Iran

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the association between Iranian auditors' narcissism and the auditors' professional skepticism.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors' sample is comprised of 355 professional auditors working in the private and public sectors in Iranian firms in 2022. The authors use cross-sectional multivariate regression as the main methodology, along with the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.

Findings

The authors find that a higher level of narcissism leads to a greater level of professional skepticism among auditors, which ultimately can enhance the quality of the audit process. The results provided via the robustness tests also supported this finding.

Originality/value

The authors' findings further the understanding of the role of narcissistic personality traits in improving professional skepticism among auditors of an Islamic and emerging country. In addition, audit firms and audit partners can also consider the findings of this study and enhance the effectiveness of audit processes by assigning appropriate employees with certain personalities to specific tasks.

Citation

Safarzadeh, M.H. and Mohammadian, M.A. (2024), "Auditors' narcissism and their professional skepticism: evidence from Iran", Asian Review of Accounting, Vol. 32 No. 1, pp. 91-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARA-12-2022-0284