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Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Auditors work in hierarchical teams in which effective upward communication is critical to audit quality. In these teams, subordinates choose both the content, as well as the style, of their communications. We report survey and experimental evidence of the importance of communication style in the context of audit team culture. Our first two studies provide evidence that audit staff perceive assertive upward communication as risky and prefer to communicate passively, especially in less autonomous team cultures. Our third study provides evidence that audit seniors consider more follow-up procedures and rate staff higher when staff communicate assertively, especially in more autonomous team cultures. Combined, these studies indicate a disconnect between audit seniors, who reward and follow up more on assertive communication, and their staff, who prefer passive communication. Our results suggest the potential for audit quality improvements by better alignment of supervisor-subordinate communication-style preferences, especially in more autonomous team cultures. Data Availability: Contact the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: This article summarizes and outlines practical implications from the findings of "It Goes Without Saying: The Effects of Intrinsic Motivational Orientation, Leadership Emphasis of Intrinsic Goals, and Audit Issue Ambiguity on Speaking Up" (Kadous, Proell, Rich, and Zhou 2019). Through a series of experiments and surveys, the initial paper tests the effect that leadership focus on intrinsic motivation of auditors can have on their willingness to "speak up" with audit issues. Furthermore, they introduce the effects that ambiguity and source of motivation have on their initial findings. We expand this original work by summarizing the empirical findings and elaborating on the practical implications for auditors, managers, academics, and regulators. Applying these findings in practice could be a cost effective and efficient way to operationalize PCAOB AS 1201 and improve audit quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]