The impact of audit team workload and digitalization on auditor's job performance and audit quality

In today's business world, where companies aim to improve themselves and gain a competitive advantage, it is essential to establish an effective financial structure. This effective financial structure is achieved when businesses adapt to the requirements of the era by continuously improving themselves. The globalization of financial markets has increased the need for reliable information, highlighting the importance of independent auditing. One of the ways to ensure easy access to reliable and transparent information in independent audits is through digitalization. It is thought that the changes brought about by digitalization in audit processes also affect audit teams and audit quality. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal the effects of the audit team's workload and digitalization on job performance and audit quality in independent audit firms. The sample of the study consists of audit teams working in audit firms operating in Turkey (n=534). In this study, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to develop a measurement model to test the reliability and validity of the scales used in data collection. Then, based on this measurement model, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the model and hypotheses regarding the effects of the audit team's workload and digitalization on auditor job performance and audit quality. According to the research findings, workload negatively affects job performance, although this effect is not significant. However, in terms of the relationship between workload and audit quality, it was found that workload negatively and significantly affects audit quality. On the other hand, digitalization was found to positively and significantly affect both job performance and audit quality. Finally, the study presents limitations and offers recommendations, suggesting that the findings will contribute to managers and researchers working on similar topics in the future.