Exploring Antecedents of Professional Skepticism on Accounting Students’ Performance in Cybersecurity

Abstract

Professional skepticism is a fundamental and critical construct for audit professionals. Although accounting regulators, practitioners, and CPA examinations call for explicit consideration of cyber risks by current and future audit professionals, the current body of literature has not examined the effects of professional skepticism in the context of cybersecurity-related tasks. This study focuses on the effect of professional skepticism on accounting students’ performance in cybersecurity (ASPC). Based on a sample of 115 graduate accounting students, we found that the students did not consistently understand cybersecurity fundamentals. Our study identifies personality traits and operating stress as antecedents of professional skepticism, and these antecedents affect ASPC indirectly through professional skepticism. The results indicate that professional skepticism directly and positively affects ASPC. In addition, cybersecurity knowledge and age positively and directly affect ASPC. The results of this study have implications for academics, accounting education, and the audit profession. Data Availability: Data are available on request from the authors. JEL Classifications: D91; M42; O33.