Reviewing the literature on audit teams: moving forward what we know in light of the emergence of new technologies
Mara Cameran, Angelo Ditillo, Angela Kate PettinicchioPurpose
Audit teams are a fascinating area of research, and their relevance has been more and more widely recognised in both theory and practice. The objective of this paper is to analyse the papers that, over the last two decades, have investigated different aspects of audit teams and to draw some conclusions on the state of the art in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the papers published on the topic and a bibliometric review of the literature using social network analysis (SNA). Secondly, we examined the specific contents of all the papers published on audit teams and critically assessed them. We adapted the framework by Georganta et al. (2024) and classified contributions in relation to dimensions that affect audit teams' outcomes. We then considered the impact that the evolution of technology has on audit teams. To do this, we relied on the existing evidence from studies that analysed the impact of new technology on audit activities. Finally, we summarised our conclusions, highlighting the avenues for future research, as well as policy implications. The authors declare that AI tools were used solely for checking the syntax and grammar of the text, with the aim of improving correctness and clarity.
Findings
Our analysis shows some fragmentation in the literature due to the rather limited focus on audit teams as the main unit of analysis. In addition, it reveals the potential characteristics of an “ideal” audit team and the profiles of its members, a number of features within the audit procedures that are beneficial to audit outcomes, and the impact of softer dimensions on the outcomes of the auditing process. It also reconsiders the conclusions achieved in the past research, in light of the advent of new technologies. Finally, we propose avenues for future research, as well as policy implications.
Originality/value
Audit teams play a pivotal role in determining audit outcomes. This is widely recognised nowadays in both theory and practice and is confirmed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which highlights that the specifics of audit teams are key to achieving audit quality (PCAOB, 2015). It is therefore crucially important to understand what we know about the characteristics and functioning of auditing teams, as well as their consequences. So far, no attempt has been made to systematically review the literature that explicitly focuses on audit teams. While there are studies that review various dimensions of auditing, such as audit fees and audit partners (Hay et al., 2006; Lennox and Wu, 2018; Simnett and Trotman, 2018), none has considered audit teams as the unit of analysis. Our objective is to fill this void.