（2006）Managing Perceptions of Technical Competence：How Well Do Auditors Know How Others View Them？.pdfVIP

Managing Perceptions of Technical Competence : How Well Do Auditors Know How Others View Them?* HUN-TONG TAN, Nanyang Technological University KARIM JAMAL, University of Alberta Abstract We investigate factors that influence an auditors accuracy in knowing how subordinates, peers, and superiors view his or her own technical competence (metaperception). Extant litera- ture on reputation management in auditing contexts depicts preparers of audit workpapers as strategic agents (subordinates) wbo stylize workpapers and engage in bebaviors that enhance their reputations with reviewers (superiors) . These superiors, in turn, are repre- sented as strategically engaging in coping behaviors in response to such stylization attempts. One of the necessary conditions for auditors to enhance their reputations on a sus- tainable basis is accurate metaperception. We report tbe results of an experiment that inves- tigates determinants of auditors metaperception accuracy. Our participants comprise teams of audit partners, managers, and seniors who work together in tbe field. Each auditor per- forms two tasks of varying complexity and then predicts whether other team members can accurately perform tbe task and bow other team members assess bis or ber pertonnance on the tasks. Results show that accuracy in knowing what others think of ones technical profi- ciency (metaperception) is generally high, particularly wben the predictor auditors are partners and managers; however, metaperception accuracy is asymmetric and varies depending on the predictor auditor, the target auditor being predicted, and task complexity. Implications are discu.ssed. Keywords Audit workpaper review; Metaperception : Reputation management JEL Descriptors C700, D84, M42