Employee Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance in Accounting Firms and Audit Quality

Author(s):  
Joshua A. Khavis ◽  
Jagan Krishnan

The PCAOB's audit-quality framework posits that superior inputs are essential for achieving high audit quality, and these inputs depend on the accounting firm's ability to recruit and retain quality personnel. However, the link between these inputs and audit quality has gone largely unexplored due to a lack of data. We use employee-level reviews of accounting firm employers from Glassdoor.com to examine perceptions of these inputs, and test whether accounting firms' internal characteristics explain employee satisfaction and audit quality. We provide descriptive evidence suggesting that "career opportunities," "senior management," and "culture and values" play a more important role in employees' satisfaction than do "compensation and benefits" or "work-life balance." Although work-life balance is not among the most important factors that are associated with audit employees' overall satisfaction, better work-life balance is nonetheless associated with higher audit quality. However, we do not find a significant association between audit-employees' overall job satisfaction and audit quality.

Author(s):  
Joshua A. Khavis ◽  
Jagan Krishnan ◽  
Colin Tipton

This article summarizes and reflects on the implications of the published study “Employee Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance in Accounting Firms and Audit Quality” (Khavis and Krishnan 2021), which examines the link between employee satisfaction, work-life balance, and audit quality within accounting firms. The study uses employee-level reviews from Glassdoor.com to examine how accounting firms are perceived by their employees, and tests whether accounting firms’ workplace characteristics explain employee satisfaction and audit quality. We briefly summarize the findings of this study and highlight relevant practical implications related to audit quality, employee recruitment, and employee retention, which may interest practitioners, regulators, and academics.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Buchheit ◽  
Derek W. Dalton ◽  
Nancy L. Harp ◽  
Carl W. Hollingsworth

SYNOPSIS In recent years, work-life balance surpassed compensation as the most important job satisfaction factor among AICPA members (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA] 2004). Despite the continued importance of this issue in the accounting profession (AICPA 2011), prior research has not examined work-life balance perceptions across different segments of the profession. We survey 1,063 practicing CPAs in order to assess the comparative work-life balance perceptions across (1) Big 4 versus smaller public accounting firms, (2) audit versus tax functions, and (3) public accounting versus industry work contexts. Consistent with predictions based on institutional logics theory, we find that work-family conflict and job burnout perceptions (our proxies for work-life balance) are highest in the Big 4. We are the first study to measure both support-for and viability-of traditional alternative work arrangements (AWAs), and we report an important distinction between these two constructs. Specifically, while CPAs across all public accounting firms (i.e., Big 4, national, regional, and local firms) report similar levels of organizational support-for AWAs, Big 4 professionals report significantly lower perceived viability-of AWAs (i.e., the ability to use AWAs and remain effective at one's job) compared to accounting professionals at smaller public accounting firms. Further, we find no differences between audit and tax professionals' perceptions across any of our work-life balance measures. We also document nuanced differences regarding work-life balance perceptions in public accounting versus industry. For example, contrary to conventional wisdom, work-life balance is not uniformly “better” in industry (e.g., burnout is actually lower in smaller public accounting firms compared to industry). Finally, we use open-ended responses from a follow-up survey to provide several recommendations for firms to improve their work-life balance efforts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (0) ◽  
pp. 217-227
Author(s):  
Muhammad Calvin Capnary ◽  
Riani Rachmawati ◽  
Iskandar Agung

Human resource is the one of the most important elements in the company. Therefore, the company must have related strategies to retain these workers. One of them is by increasing employee loyalty and satisfaction through flexibility of work and work life balance. The strategy chosen is based on the unique characteristics of the majority of workers who entered the millennial generation. Some companies are already implementing these strategies, including startup companies. This study aims to investigate the influence of the flexibility of working on loyalty and employee satisfaction with work life balance. This research was conducted using convenience and snowball sampling technique to the 121 respondents with a millennial generation background which is worked in startup companies in Indonesia. Data obtained from respondents were processed and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results of this study indicate that flexibility of work has significant and positive influence to loyalty and employee satisfaction. However, flexibility of work has positive and significant impact on loyalty and employee satisfaction. This research prove that work life balance have partial mediating influence in relationship between flexibility of work and loyalty. In the other hands, work life balance have no mediating a relationship between flexibility of work and the satisfaction of employee with millennial background that is worked in startup companies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafique Ahmed Khan ◽  

Purpose: This paper basically aims at exploring and investigating the impact of factors including career growth opportunities, workplace environment, managerial support, rewards & recognition system , and work-life balance on ‘turnover intention’ of teachers, in Bahria Schools and Colleges at Karachi. For the sake of ascertaining influence of these factors on employee turnover intention, six Bahria Schools and Colleges at Karachi were chosen. Methodology: By adopting a quantitative approach, views of 120 respondents (both male & female) were obtained with the help of a well structured questionnaire. The data were treated by applying correlation and regression analysis tools with the help of SPSS software, version 22. Findings: The results indicated that all five factors were negatively related with teachers’ turnover intention. However, impact of work-life balance was not insignificant. Similarly, results of the female employees varied from those of the male respondents. Male employees were comparatively less concerned about the issues related to work-life balance as compared to their female counterparts. Since all independent variables, if suitably practiced, also lead to employee satisfaction, the study clearly reflected the inverse relationship between employee satisfaction and turnover intention. Implications: This study can help the management of Bahria Schools and Colleges to understand the factors responsible for employee turnover intention. By paying due attention towards the identified factors, the Bahria Schools and Colleges can significantly enhance the motivation level of teachers, thereby reducing their turnover intention. The study is considered equally useful for other Schools and Colleges. In the end, future researchers have been advised to further explore the likely contribution of other factors towards employee satisfaction and reduced turnover intention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Milica Mladenović ◽  
Bojan Krstić

The purpose of the paper is presenting the most noticeable trends in establishing work/life balance of managers and other employees worldwide. Due to global changes, establishing work/life balance of employees is considered a strategic topic for human resource management (HRM). The research was conducted through a thorough analysis of various theoretical and empirical studies from the previous period, both domestically and abroad, with the aim of determining the extent to which companies have integrated employees' work/life balance programs into their HRM strategy and daily operations. Introducing training and the use of employees' work/life balance benefits leads to reduced stress and increased productivity, commitment and employee satisfaction. Consequently, this leads to improved company performance-reduced absenteeism and leaving of the company, lower recruiting and training costs, attracting and retaining top quality employees, as well as better company image. This way, employees' work/life balance programs provide benefits for both the employees and the company.


2020 ◽  
pp. 871-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gassan Issa AL-Omari ◽  
Rami Hanandeh ◽  
Mustafa Mahmoud Al-Somaidaee ◽  
Mufleh Amin Al Jarrah ◽  
Sakher Alnajdawi

2022 ◽  
pp. 511-532
Author(s):  
Nihan Senbursa

Within an ever-changing, digitalized world, the working methods have vastly changed over the last few decades. If the effects of a contemporary event such as COVID-19—the global pandemic started in the Hubei region of China at the end of December 2019—are considered, the changes have reached beyond just the practical logistics of working and crossed otherwise untouched social and emotional barriers. As a result of the pandemic, new working ways on an international level have become considerably more prominent. With the post-modern paradigm, organizations have focused on their employees and see them as stakeholders and developed a set of policies and standards under the guise of “an employee-friendly organization.” This chapter sheds light on strategies on how to maintain work-life balance in a virtual environment of remote work, new regulations, and the gaining importance of employee satisfaction, ensuring remote employees feel cared for, valued, and included.


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