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Book part
Publication date: 13 March 2023

Adrien B. Bonache and Kenneth J. Smith

This chapter combines quantitative studies of the connections between stressors and performance in accounting settings and identifies the mediators and moderators of…

Abstract

This chapter combines quantitative studies of the connections between stressors and performance in accounting settings and identifies the mediators and moderators of stressors–performance relationships. Using meta-analyses and path analyses, this research compiles 72 studies to investigate the relationships of stressors with accountant and auditor performance. As hypothesized, bivariate meta-analyses results indicate that work-related stressors negatively affect performance, and burnout and stress are negatively related to performance, whereas motivation is positively related to performance. Moreover, a meta-analytical structural equation modeling indicates that role stressors have significant direct and indirect effects (through burnout and stress) on job performance. Accumulation of multiple samples through meta-analysis bolsters statistical power compared to single-sample studies and thus reveals the sign of residual direct effects of role stressors on job performance in accounting settings.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-798-3

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Book part
Publication date: 8 September 2017

Kenneth J. Smith, David J. Emerson and George S. Everly

This paper examines the influence of stress arousal and burnout as mediators of the negative relations between role stressors and job outcomes (satisfaction, performance, and…

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of stress arousal and burnout as mediators of the negative relations between role stressors and job outcomes (satisfaction, performance, and turnover intentions) among a sample of AICPA members working in public accounting. It extends prior research which examined these linkages (Chong & Monroe, 2015; Fogarty, Singh, Rhoads, & Moore, 2000; Smith, Davy, & Everly, 2007) by evaluating a model that simultaneously incorporates stress arousal and the three fundamental dimensions of burnout, i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. This paper also utilizes a recently validated stress arousal measure designed to capture the worry and rumination aspects of arousal posited to be responsible for a number of negative personal outcomes.

The results indicate that role stressors, mediated by stress arousal and the individual burnout dimensions, have a negative influence on job outcomes. In line with predictions regarding the temporal ordering of stress arousal and burnout in the model, each of the job stressors had a significant positive influence on accountants’ stress arousal, and the influence of the individual role stressors on each burnout dimension was either partially or fully mediated via their relations with stress arousal. In turn, the influence of stress arousal on each of the job outcomes was either partially or fully mediated through its relations with emotional exhaustion.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-527-6

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Article
Publication date: 5 November 2018

Kenneth J. Smith, David J. Emerson and Charles R. Boster

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role stress model originally developed by Fogarty et al. (2000) using more refined measures, a context-specific performance metric…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role stress model originally developed by Fogarty et al. (2000) using more refined measures, a context-specific performance metric and a targeted respondent group. The investigation uses a sample of working professional auditors to investigate the associations between job stressors, burnout and job outcomes using an industry-specific measure of job performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The analyses use structural equations modeling procedures to examine a model that postulates that burnout will mediate the relations between job stressors and job outcomes. The data for the study come from 293 survey instruments completed by auditors working at the offices of 11 public accounting firms. A parsimonious job satisfaction scale based on Churchill et al.’s (1985) 27-item scale is developed using classical test-item analysis and is incorporated into the analysis.

Findings

The results suggest three significant items of note. First, although prior research has found that burnout partially mediates relations between job stressors and job outcomes, this study shows that burnout fully mediates these associations. Second, the study provides support for the reduced audit quality practices (RAQP) scale as an audit-specific construct for job performance. Finally, results show that the 27-item job satisfaction scale can successfully be reduced to a six-item scale.

Research limitations/implications

While this study is subject to the limitations inherent to all cross-sectional studies that use self-report instruments, the results further the knowledge related to the role stress paradigm in auditor work settings.

Practical implications

This study’s findings provides a cogent argument for human resource managers at public accounting firms to monitor staff burnout levels and implement interventional strategies (Jones III et al., 2010) when these levels become excessive. Efforts to mitigate staff burnout levels may decrease the likelihood of staff engagement in dysfunctional audit practices and the associated costs to the firm and the individual(s) involved.

Originality/value

The findings also demonstrate the superiority of the RAQP scale in terms of explaining variance in auditor performance when compared to the modified performance measures utilized in prior research.

Details

Managerial Auditing Journal, vol. 33 no. 8/9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-6902

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Article
Publication date: 12 May 2020

Kenneth J. Smith, David J. Emerson, Charles R. Boster and George S. Everly, Jr

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential counteracting influence of individual resilience levels on the tendency of role stressors, stress arousal and burnout to…

1284

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential counteracting influence of individual resilience levels on the tendency of role stressors, stress arousal and burnout to reduce job satisfaction and increase turnover intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study surveys 332 auditors from the offices of nine public accounting firms. The structural equations modeling procedures examine an expanded role stress model to assess the nature and extent of the role that resilience plays in reducing stress, burnout, job dissatisfaction and turnover intentions.

Findings

Resilience has a significant direct negative association with stress arousal and burnout, a significant indirect positive association with job satisfaction and a significant indirect negative association with turnover intentions.

Research limitations/implications

As a cross-sectional study that incorporates self-report instruments, no definitive statements can be made about causality. However, the results extend the extant knowledge related of the role of resilience as a coping mechanism within the role stress paradigm in auditor work settings.

Practical implications

This study’s findings suggest the potential value of resilience training programs at public accounting firms to reduce staff burnout. In turn, reduced burnout has an increased likelihood ceteris paribus of increasing job satisfaction and reducing auditor turnover intentions.

Originality/value

This study’s findings suggest that resilience training for public accounting staff to reduce burnout may provide the organizational and personal benefits associated with enhancing job satisfaction and decreasing turnover intentions.

Details

Accounting Research Journal, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1030-9616

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Book part
Publication date: 27 October 2016

Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco

This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…

Abstract

This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.

Details

Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-973-2

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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2018

Kenneth J. Smith, David J. Emerson and Michael A. Schuldt

This paper aims to evaluate the efficacy of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale 10 (CD-RISC 10) (Campbell-Sills and Stein, 2007) for use in public accounting settings.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate the efficacy of the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale 10 (CD-RISC 10) (Campbell-Sills and Stein, 2007) for use in public accounting settings.

Design/methodology/approach

The analyses include an examination of possible demographic differences in overall score, the scale’s factor structure, the invariance of its factor structure across gender and age groups, the scale’s reliability and its convergent and divergent validity.

Findings

There are significant gender and age group difference in scores, but a common univariate factor structure for the scale. The authors further find that a two-factor solution provides a superior fit to the data compared to the single factor structure used in the most prior research. Spearman–Brown reliability coefficients, item-total correlations and coefficient alphas each support the reliability of the items loading on the scale for the full sample, as well as for each of the above-referenced demographic subsamples.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations are acknowledged related to the use of self-report measures, absence of test-retest score comparisons and convergent and divergent assessments limited to the heterotrait–homomethod approach.

Practical implications

The CD-RISC 10 is an expedient resilience measure, as it can be completed and scored in just a few minutes. Human resource administrators at public accounting firms can use it as an initial screening measure to identify staff who might benefit from resilience training. The paper adds to the appreciation of what not to do in the face of crisis by the government and those in charge of large accounting organizations.

Social implications

The CD-RISC 10 can be used in research and clinical efforts to reduce voluntary turnover of audit staff and enhance the well-being of auditors in the workplace.

Originality/value

This study provides empirical evidence that the CD-RISC 10 is a valid and reliable measure for future assessments of auditor resilience levels.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 July 2010

Kenneth J. Smith, Patricia L. Derrick and Michael R. Koval

Considerable progress has been made over the past 20 years toward the construction of a global stress paradigm for accountants in the workplace. Over this time period, a number of…

Abstract

Considerable progress has been made over the past 20 years toward the construction of a global stress paradigm for accountants in the workplace. Over this time period, a number of antecedents and consequences of personal and organizational stress have been identified and empirically verified. These efforts have provided the foundation for future investigations, which will likely provide additional guidance to those seeking to implement strategies aimed at enhancing individual well-being and organizational efficiency. This chapter synthesizes the findings of these studies to construct a model of the stress dynamic among accountants aimed at guiding future efforts designed to refine our understanding of this critical phenomenon.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-137-5

Book part
Publication date: 9 May 2012

Kenneth J. Smith, George S. Everly and G. Timothy Haight

The Stress Arousal Scale (SAS; Everly, Sherman, & Smith, 1989) is a 20-item psychometric instrument designed to measure cognitive–affective precipitators of the physiological…

Abstract

The Stress Arousal Scale (SAS; Everly, Sherman, & Smith, 1989) is a 20-item psychometric instrument designed to measure cognitive–affective precipitators of the physiological stress response. The SAS has been utilized in a number of studies that have examined various relations between stress arousal and its antecedents and consequences in the accounting work environment. This study introduces a new version of this scale, the SAS4, developed based on the Perseverative Cognition Hypothesis (Brosschot, Gerin, & Thayer, 2006). It is hypothesized that this new scale has internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and both convergent and divergent validity as well as significant correlation with the balance of the items on the original scale. These predictions are tested with a sample of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) members employed in public accounting, and four independent samples of undergraduate business students. The results indicate that the SAS4 is a valid and reliable psychometric measure with potential benefits in terms of its congruence with recent theoretical and empirical advances in the etiology of stress, as well as its administrative efficiency for those seeking to further examine the stress dynamic among accountants in the workplace.

Details

Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-758-1

Book part
Publication date: 12 August 2009

Kenneth J. Smith, Jeanette A. Davy and Donald L. Rosenberg

This study uses structural equation modeling to examine the influence of academic motivation on reported prior cheating behavior, neutralization tendencies, and likelihood of…

Abstract

This study uses structural equation modeling to examine the influence of academic motivation on reported prior cheating behavior, neutralization tendencies, and likelihood of future cheating among accounting majors. It also investigates the impact of prior cheating on neutralization of cheating behaviors and the likelihood of future cheating, as well as the potential mediating effects of neutralization on future cheating behavior. Our results support differentiation of the theoretical constructs within the specified process model, and also show significant positive associations between an amotivational orientation and prior cheating, neutralization, and the likelihood of future cheating.

Details

Advances in Accounting Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-882-3

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Melinda J. Milligan

This paper broadens and extends the idea of organizational death by arguing that certain organizational site moves, those in which employees hold a strong place attachment to the…

Abstract

This paper broadens and extends the idea of organizational death by arguing that certain organizational site moves, those in which employees hold a strong place attachment to the to be left, are a form of organizational death. It argues for the utility of viewing organizational change as involving loss and including space in studies of everyday organizational experiences. Using ethnographic research (participant‐observation and in‐depth interviews with the employees) of one such organization (the “Coffee House”) and a negotiated‐order perspective, discusses employee beliefs as to how the site move should have been managed as a means to document their understanding of the move as a loss experience and as a form of organizational death.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 23 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

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1 – 10 of over 1000