A new study from Tilburg University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison examines a question many firms have been asking quietly for years: how far apart are student expectations of audit work from the realities junior auditors experience?

The research, based on survey responses from 344 Dutch business and accounting students and 161 junior auditors, gives that gap a clearer shape. 

The authors find that students consistently underestimate some of the most appealing parts of the junior auditor role. Actual auditors report more intellectual challenge, more client interaction, and more autonomy than students expect. They also find the work less repetitive and less compliance-driven than students assume.

The study notes that these misperceptions are “particularly pronounced for Big 4 audit firms,”  suggesting that the firms most affected by the talent shortage may also be the ones students misjudge the most.

The gap runs the other direction too. Students tend to overestimate overtime hours and the amount of formal training, yet underestimate the amount of daily travel auditors report. They also hold more pessimistic views of organizational culture at Big 4 firms, expecting weaker relationships with managers and less openness than junior auditors describe. 

Most importantly, the researchers find that a larger expectations-reality gap decreases the likelihood that a student will pursue an audit career. Despite a crowded field of outreach efforts, only in-house days show a meaningful effect in narrowing that gap.

For firms trying to reach the next generation, the study’s takeaway is that clarity about what the work actually looks like may matter as much as any recruitment incentive.