“The Gut Instinct Gives You Direction and then You Follow it”: Exploring the Social-Intuitive Dimension of Auditor Skepticism

Recent conceptualizations of auditors’ professional skepticism suggest the interplay between analytical and intuitive information processing. We conduct an in-depth empirical investigation to explore this relationship, drawing on 49 interviews with auditors from the Big Four audit firms in the UK. It reveals that auditors’ skepticism often emerges intuitively in response to interpersonal contexts, manifesting as feelings of discomfort. These intuitive responses guide subsequent, more deliberative processes of collecting and analyzing audit evidence. The research demonstrates that such intuitive feelings are integral to auditors’ recognition of potential issues, thereby enhancing their cognitive evaluations. Additionally, the study explores how auditors’ skeptical judgments are continuously shaped by their social environments and the intuitions of other members of their audit teams. Ultimately, the findings affirm that the fusion of intuition and reasoning plays a crucial role in auditors’ practice of PS, with past practice experiences and social interactions enriching their intuitive assessments and contributing to developing their professional expertise.