The Effects of Personality Disorder on Auditors' Professional Skepticism

Professional skepticism is among those crucial subjects introduced in auditing. It requires the auditor to enjoy a questioning mind while critically assessing the evidences, and it is affected by personality traits, and hence, personality disorders. According to American Psychiatric Association (APA), personality disorders include behavioral, as well as, mental patterns which are characterized by impairment of recognition and setting excitements that result in impressive anxiety and performance disorder. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of auditors’ personality disorders on their professional skepticism. For this purpose, in a survey study, a sample of 293 auditors, including CPAs and those eligible to sit for CPA exam, are investigated. This study is conducted by using scrolling approach and applying statistical analysis of structured equations and regressions. Hurtt’s (2010) trait skepticism questionnaire is applied for testing participants’ professional skepticism, and their personality disorders are tested by using a brief form of the Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- fifth edition (PID-5-BF) which is published by APA (2013). The results indicate that all dimensions of auditors’ personality disorders, negatively affect their professional skepticism. Also, the most negative association can be witnessed between personality disorders and interpersonal understanding criterion of professional skepticism.