The busy season and its concentrated workload demands are longstanding challenges for public
accounting firms. Prior experimental and survey research indicates that the associated pressures can
lead to dysfunctional behaviors and lower audit quality at the individual auditor level. Yet, different
regulatory bodies and audit firms themselves have developed quality control mechanisms to protect
the overall quality of the financial audit process. Auditors also have strong motivations to maintain
optimal levels of performance because of the high reputational costs associated with audit failures.
We, therefore, investigate whether individual auditor effects documented in prior experimental
research ultimately affect the collective performance of auditors.