Differences in Emotional Intelligence Between Auditors and Accounting Students: A Multidimensional Approach

Within the accounting profession, auditors must exercise professional skepticism, also known as a questioning mind. A questioning mind is key to overall audit quality because it causes auditors to use a critical eye when evaluating financial statements and asking appropriate questions. Emotional intelligence can positively influence professional skepticism. Yet, accounting students exhibit lower levels of emotional intelligence than their peers, which could be problematic for the profession. This quantitative study aimed to determine if a difference existed between the emotional intelligence levels of auditors and accounting students on both a combined and multidimensional level. Emotional intelligence was measured on four dimensions. The results indicate that auditors had higher overall emotional intelligence scores (M = 3.82, SD = .38) than students (M = 3.65, SD = .43). Auditors scored significantly higher on self-focused emotion appraisal (M = 4.16, SD = .55) than students (M = 3.69, SD = .66). This study contributes to the body of knowledge on emotional intelligence between auditors and accounting students to provide insights for accounting educators regarding accounting curriculum to better prepare students for a career in auditing.