BURNOUT AND AUDITOR WORK BEHAVIOURS IN TANZANIAN PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMS

Abstract

This study examined the effect of work stressors (time pressure, work ambiguity, work overload, and work conflict) and Burnout experienced by auditors working in Tanzanian audit firms, on organisational outcomes that are important to the effectiveness of the service offered by these firms.  The work behaviours that were examined are Under-reporting of worked time (URT), Premature signing of audit steps in the audit programme without actually carrying out the required work (PMSO), and Turnover intentions (TI). 

The survey data was collected from a sample of forty (40) auditors at manager to assistant level, who are currently practising in various public accounting firms in Dar es Salaam.  Results generally supported the main hypothesis of this study which predicted that work stress by itself may not necessarily lead to detrimental auditor behaviour, perhaps as auditors learn to cope with it.  However, when the auditor starts to exhibit burnout tendencies, it almost certainly leads to a number of negative work behaviours.