Drivers of audit client satisfaction in the external audit fieldwork

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand factors in the external audit fieldwork that contributes to audit client satisfaction.MethodologyThe purpose is addressed by a single case study and based upon data collected by a questionnaire, and analysed using Bayesian networks.FindingsThis study concludes that there are several factors which affects audit client satisfaction in the field work activity, for example different contextual factors\ua0 such\ua0 as\ua0 role, previous\ua0 experience\ua0 and\ua0 country\ua0 origin, but\ua0 also\ua0 process related factors such as feelings\ua0 of the auditee after\ua0 the\ua0 opening\ua0 meeting.Research LimitationsThis paper is based on a study of one company and their interaction with one of their certification bodies for external auditing, hence the generalizability of the findings is limited by the case study method. Moreover, the management system studied is restricted to the ISO 9001 Management System Standards.Originality/valuePrevious research has examined what quality attributes that are associated with audit client satisfaction and concluded that one of those are the audit fieldwork. This paper adds to this body of knowledge by empirically examine what factors within the fieldwork that contributes to audit client satisfaction, but also by adding the concept of co-creation of value to the audit process. By understanding these means, it is possible to better maximise the value add of external audits, either being a provider of audit services or a buyer of audit services