Can multitasking influence professional scepticism?
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
3-1-2021
Abstract
Motivated by concerns about the adverse effects of multitasking in audit practice and research that highlights the effects of mindset orientation on professional scepticism, we investigate how the performance of tasks consistent with different mindset orientations affects auditors’ professional scepticism in a subsequent, unrelated task. Results show that auditors who first complete a task that requires concrete (abstract) thinking display greater professional scepticism during a subsequent, unrelated task that involves evaluating a narrow and complete set of evidence (a broad and incomplete set of evidence). We discuss the implications for professional scepticism in multitasking environments.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Accounting and Finance
Volume
61
Issue
1
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Fehrenbacher, Dennis D., Anis Triki, and Martin Michael Weisner. "Can multitasking influence professional scepticism?." Accounting and Finance 61, 1 (2021): 1277-1306. doi: 10.1111/acfi.12627.