The Effect of Deep-Level Value Diversity in Audit Teams on Audit Quality and the Moderating Role of Time Pressure

Abstract

This study examines the impact of deep-level value diversity within audit teams on audit quality. Although prior research on audit teams has primarily focused on surface-level diversity, which is related to observable characteristics such as gender, background or hierarchical position and generally viewed as beneficial due to its potential to broaden the team's knowledge base, deep-level diversity may have a different impact. Deep-level diversity refers to differences in underlying non-visible attributes, such as personal values, which only become apparent through interpersonal interaction. These differences can negatively influence team functioning, as people tend to communicate and collaborate more effectively with those who share similar values. Using survey data from 66 complete audit teams (258 auditors), we find that higher value diversity is indeed negatively associated with audit quality. Moreover, our findings provide conditional and range-specific exploratory evidence suggesting that this negative association becomes more pronounced as time pressure increases.