Exploring Intuition in Auditing: A Mixed‐Methods Field Study

Several scholars have argued that intuition plays a significant role in auditor judgement and decision‐making (JDM); however, there is limited scientific insight into whether, to what extent and how intuition is perceived in practice. This mixed‐methods field study explores the perceived use of intuition in auditing. Following a survey of 290 auditors and 18 interviews, we found that although auditors often perceived using their intuition, some associated this with risks and challenges. Moreover, the auditors' perceived use of intuition was related to various individual characteristics, such as job level, and organizational characteristics, including bureaucratic organizational culture and firm size. Importantly, the auditors frequently reported integrating intuition into their JDM, emphasizing the need to acknowledge intuition as a non‐negligible element of JDM in both audit practice and research. Based on these insights, we propose recommendations for further study to understand and integrate intuition better within the auditing profession.