Accounting and Auditing Review

Accounting and Auditing Review

A Comprehensive Model for Reducing Occupational Stress among Auditors through Enhancing Occupational Resilience

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Reza Asgharpour Hassankiyadeh 1
Abdossamad Khalatbari Limaki 2
1 MSc., Department of Auditing, Ram.C., Islamic Azad University, Ramsar, Iran.
2 Assistant Prof., Department of Auditing, Ram.C., Islamic Azad University, Ramsar, Iran.
10.22059/acctgrev.2025.404321.1009170
Abstract
Objective
In recent years, the auditing profession has experienced significant legal, regulatory, and technological changes, substantially increasing auditors' psychological stress and workload. Heightened accountability requirements, tight deadlines, heavy task loads, and litigation risks create a highly stressful environment that can lead to psychological fatigue, reduced concentration, diminished performance, and increased intentions to leave the profession. The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive model for reducing auditors' occupational psychological stress by enhancing occupational resilience, to identify the mechanisms through which resilience influences psychological and professional outcomes, and to propose practical strategies for improving auditors' mental well-being and professional performance.
Methods
This study is applied in purpose and exploratory–confirmatory in nature. In the first phase, using a grounded theory approach, the dimensions, components, and relationships among variables related to auditors’ job-related psychological pressures and resilience were identified. Data were collected through 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with university faculty members, audit firm managers, and organizational behavior specialists. The data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) three-stage coding approach, supported by MAXQDA software. In the second phase, the identified components and their relationships were validated using the fuzzy Delphi method with the participation of 20 experts in accounting, auditing, and occupational psychology. Data were collected through a fuzzy Delphi questionnaire and analyzed using fuzzification, aggregation of expert judgments, and defuzzification to assess consensus and refine the proposed model. Throughout the study, ethical standards were maintained, including informed consent, confidentiality, and voluntary participation.
Results
The findings revealed that auditors are significantly affected by the psychological and emotional pressures of their work, and their lived experiences can be categorized into four main themes: organizational and job-related pressures, individual and psychological pressures, psychological and behavioral consequences, as well as support systems and coping resources. Data analysis showed that these themes are interrelated, and the integration of results ultimately led to the development of a four-level comprehensive model of auditors’ occupational resilience. This model encompasses individual, interpersonal, organizational, and professional strategies for reducing psychological pressures and enhancing resilience within auditing environments.
Conclusion
Auditors’ job-related psychological pressures stem from a complex interplay of organizational, occupational, individual, and psychological factors within demanding and high-pressure work environments. This interplay gives rise to consequences such as mental and emotional exhaustion, reduced concentration, depression, diminished efficiency, and job burnout, all of which threaten auditors’ mental health and professional performance. Occupational resilience serves as a protective and mediating mechanism that, through individual, interpersonal, organizational, and professional pathways, can significantly mitigate the adverse effects of job stress. Strengthening resilience across these four levels represents an effective strategy for preventing burnout, improving mental health, enhancing professional judgment, and increasing audit quality. The primary contribution of this study is the development of a comprehensive, context-specific model of auditors' occupational resilience that conceptualizes resilience not merely as an individual attribute but as a multidimensional, dynamic construct requiring coordinated interventions at the individual, organizational, and professional levels. By integrating occupational psychology with auditing professionalism, this model provides a theoretical and practical framework for policymaking, designing resilience-based training programs, developing psychological support systems, managing human capital, and improving occupational health standards within the audit profession. The results offer a foundation for revising human resource management practices in audit firms, implementing resilience-oriented professional development programs, and establishing sustainable psychological support mechanisms at the national level, ultimately contributing to improved audit quality and long-term workforce stability in the profession.
Keywords
Occupational stress in auditors
Occupational resilience of auditors
Job stress in auditing
Subjects
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Accounting and Auditing Review
Volume 33, Issue 3
2026
Pages 446-480