Survey On The Differential Effects Of Time Deadline Pressure Versus Time Budget Pressure On Auditor Behavior

Abstract

The study examines the differential effects of time deadline pressure versus time budget pressure by surveying both senior and staff auditors in public accounting firms. The responding senior auditors reported experiencing time deadline pressure more frequently than time budget pressure over the preceding year and a majority of them indicated they experienced more stress from time deadline pressure than from time budget pressure. However, the responding staff auditors experienced time deadline and time budget pressures about equally over the preceding year and experience3d about equal levels of stress from the two types of time pressure. In contract to the frequency and stress results noted above, the results also indicated that both senior an staff auditors perceived time budget pressure to be more associated with reduced audit quality, reduced job satisfaction, and increased underreporting of chargeable time than time deadline pressure.