Faculty Publications

Cultivating Engaged Audit Teams: The Effect of the Lead Audit Partner’s Leadership Behaviors

Document Type

Article

Keywords

audit quality, full-range leadership, lead audit partner leadership, team engagement

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Accounting Horizons

Volume

39

Issue

4

First Page

95

Last Page

107

Abstract

Previous research demonstrates that team engagement significantly impacts employee well-being and performance at work. This study investigates the effects of the lead audit partner’s leadership behaviors on audit team engagement using field data from 82 audit teams involved in actual audit engagements from three accounting firms in the United States. The results demonstrate that the lead audit partner’s leadership behaviors play an important role in developing engaged teams. Our research identifies three specific leadership behaviors that are instrumental in cultivating team engagement. The findings provide a targeted and directly actionable set of recommendations for firms seeking to improve employee engagement in their audit teams.

Department

Department of Accounting

Original Publication Date

12-1-2025

DOI of published version

10.2308/HORIZONS-2022-105

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