Abstract

Dysfunctional audit behaviour is an accepted problem, associated with decreased audit quality. This study develops and tests a theoretical model that identifies factors contributing to dysfunctional audit behavior. Organizational commitment and professional commitment were examined as antecedents of attitudes toward dysfunctional audit behaviour. A path analysis from a partial least squares (PLS) approach was employed based on survey results from 225 Audit Managers in Malaysia. The findings produced evidence to show that organizational commitment was a significant predictor of dysfunctional audit behaviour. The results of the study should impact auditing procedures, hiring, training and promotion decisions, and help to minimize the occurrence and acceptance of dysfunctional audit behaviour. The study is significant, in that, it provides a timely response to regulators concerned about the impairment of audit quality.

Key words: Dysfunctional audit behaviour, organizational commitment, professional commitment.