The impact of gendered characterisrics on the audit process

الملخص EN

Previous research on the gendering process in audit firms indicate that a “glass-ceiling” seem to exclude females from the highest positions (such as partnership) in audit firms and that audit firms are gendered through socialization, performance evaluation, recruitment policies, the use of symbols and the development of organizational roles.

Audit quality seems not only to be connected to what auditors do, but also to who the auditors are.

Hence, auditor characteristics seem important.

Abilities, skills and behaviour can come from and be developed by education and training, but also be a part of a person's personality.

This paper considers central aspects of auditing as a profession and point out the importance of auditors having certain (different) personal characteristics.

Through the presentation of the audit process, characteristics required in the audit process and a distinction of female or male characteristics, this paper puts forward the proposition that the processes of auditing requires different characteristics of the auditors.

These different characteristics can in turn be considered through a gender lens.

Thus, the aim of this paper is to explore essential characteristics of auditors required in different parts of the audit process.

A questionnaire was sent to 1000 Egyptian auditors and the response rate was 16.9 per cent.

The result indicates that the while the characteristic “analytical”, which is classified as male, is considered the most essential characteristic, female characteristics are significantly more important in the planning stage and in the final review stage of the audit process.