Research Interests
- Audit judgment & decision-making: How auditors interpret evidence and make high-stakes decisions under uncertainty, time pressure, and accountability demands.
- Audit quality & assurance credibility: Factors that strengthen (or weaken) confidence in assurance services.
- Behavioral influences in auditing: How professional relationships, incentives, and workplace conditions shape auditor behavior, professional skepticism, and audit outcomes.
- Regulation, oversight & audit practice: How inspection regimes, standards, and governance mechanisms influence audit work, reporting choices, and market perceptions.
- Emerging issues in assurance: How technology and new reporting domains (e.g., sustainability) change assurance needs, auditor responsibilities, and stakeholder expectations.
Biography
Dr. Chad M. Stefaniak, Ph.D., C.P.A., is an Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi, where he contributes to the Patterson School of Accountancy through teaching and research in auditing and data analytics. Prior to academia, he worked as an IT Auditor with Ernst & Young (Detroit). As an academic, he has been an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University (2009-2013), associate professor and Department Chair at Central Michigan University (2013-2016), and advanced to full professor at the University of South Carolina (2016-2024) before joining Ole Miss in 2025. His experimental research examines how judgment, incentives, and oversight shape audit decisions and outcomes, with particular attention to auditor bias, performance evaluation, and regulatory influence. His work is widely cited, has informed policy and standard-setting conversations, and has been covered by practitioner and media outlets including MarketWatch, Economia, CFO Magazine, Accounting Today, The Guardian, Agenda Week, Going Concern, The Dig, and The Huffington Post.
Stefaniak is also an active leader in the auditing discipline. He has held prominent roles in the American Accounting Association’s Auditing Section, including President (2024–2025), and has served on editorial boards for Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Accounting Horizons, and Accounting Open. He has also provided expert consulting and expert witness support. He brings these experiences into the classroom and doctoral mentorship, with a focus on preparing students to both succeed in a profession that is evolving rapidly and to contribute as thoughtful leaders, effective practitioners, and successful researchers.
Publications
“Auditors’ Susceptibility to Affective Bias via Repeated Client Email Exchanges with Mixed Evidence” with Erin Hawkins and Kate Sorensen. Journal of Information Systems (In Press).
“Using the Sociocognitive Model of Moral Psychology to Understand Auditor Actions”, with Kristen Thompson. International Journal of Auditing (In Press).
“The Beauty of Auditor Selection: The Effects of Auditor Attractiveness and Auditee Goals on Procuring Governmental Audit Services”, with Marena Messina and Jennifer Schafer. Behavioral Research in Accounting (In Press).
“Caring for the community: The effects of client civic benefit on auditors’ stakeholder prioritizations and audit judgments”, with Tim Brown and Macy Knutson. Accounting Horizons (In Press).
“How Negative Accounting News Events and Voluntary Sustainability Assurance Influence Consumer Purchasing Intentions”, with Clark Hampton, Adi Masli, and Macy Knutson. Accounting, Organizations and Society (2025).
“The effect of different approaches to administering a fixed wage raise on employee productivity” with Bryan Stikeleather and Nate Waddoups. Accounting, Organizations and Society (2025).
“Audit Firm Tenure Disclosure and Nonprofessional Investors’ Perceptions of Auditor Independence: The Mitigating Effect of Partner Rotation Disclosure,” with Sarah Judge and Brian Goodson. Contemporary Accounting Research (2024).
“Time out: Auditor perceptions and audit outcomes when an audit firm decides not to require its auditors to report billable time”, with Erin Hawkins, Drew Newman, Jesse Robertson, and Jeremy Vinson. Accounting Horizons (2024).
“The ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence Chatbot: How Well Does It Answer Accounting Assessment Questions?”, with David Wood et al. [300+ coauthored project] Issues in Accounting Education (2023).
“Management’s Reporting Motives and the Leniency of Auditors’ Internal Control Evaluations: The Role of Organizational Identification and Auditor-type” with Ben Commerford and Curtis Mullis. The Accounting Review (2023).
“The Effects of Client Status and the Auditor’s Presentation of Multiple Estimation Alternatives on Client Financial Reporting Aggressiveness”, with Sanaz Aghazadeh and Andrew Collins. Behavioral Research in Accounting (2020)
“Using Undisclosed Time Budgets to Reduce the Magnitude of Auditors' Underreporting of Chargeable Time,” with Jill Weber. Behavioral Research in Accounting (2018).
“Audit Partner Disclosure: An Experimental Exploration of Accounting Information Contagion,” with Tamara Lambert and Benjamin Luippold. Behavioral Research in Accounting (2018).
“Investigating Inspection Risk: An Analysis of PCAOB Inspections and Internal Quality Reviews,” with Richard Houston and Duane Brandon. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (2017).
“An International Perspective on Audit Report Lag: A Synthesis of the Literature and Opportunities for Future Research,” with Alexandria Weisbarth, Michael Barnes, and John Abernathy. International Journal of Auditing (2017). [Result of undergraduate honors research project advising]
“Literature Review and Research Opportunities on Credibility of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting,” with John Abernathy, Jacqueline Fillmore, and Anne Wilkins. American Journal of Business (2017). [Result of undergraduate honors research project advising]
“The Work Environment in Large Public Accounting Firms,” with Dana Hermanson, Rich Houston, and Anne Wilkins. Current Issues in Auditing (2016).
“Using ‘The Wave’ to Facilitate Students’ Understanding of the Social and Psychological Pressures Associated with the Auditing Profession.” Current Issues in Auditing (2016)
“The Effect of Deadline Pressure on Pre-Negotiation Positions: A Comparison of Auditors and Client Management,” with Bradley Bennett and Rick Hatfield. Contemporary Accounting Research (2015).
“How the Source of Audit Committee Accounting Expertise Influences Financial Reporting Timeliness,” with John Abernathy, Brooke Beyer, and Adi Masli. Current Issues in Auditing (2015)
“Do PCAOB Inspection Reports Influence Corporate Executives’ Perceptions of Audit Quality and the Likelihood of Switching Auditors?” with Richard Houston and Jesse Robertson. Accounting and the Public Interest (2014).
“The Association Between Characteristics of Audit Committee Accounting Experts, Audit Committee Chairs, and Financial Reporting Timeliness,” with John Abernathy, Brooke Beyer, and Adi Masli. Advances in Accounting (2014).
“A Summary of 10 Years of PCAOB Research: What Have We Learned?” with John Abernathy and Michael Barnes. Journal of Accounting Literature (2013).
“A Summary of Research on External Auditor Reliance on the Internal Audit Function,” with Charles Bame-Aldred, Duane Brandon, William Messier, and Larry Rittenberg. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (2013).
“Audit Partner Perceptions of Post-Audit Review Mechanisms: An Examination of Internal Quality Review and PCAOB Inspections,” with Richard Houston, Accounting Horizons (2013).
“Sent from my iPhone: The Medium and Message as Signals of Sender Professionalism in Mobile Telephony,” with Caleb Carr, Journal of Applied Communications Research (2012).
“The Effects of Organizational Identification on Internal and External Auditors’ Evaluation of Internal Control Deficiencies,” with Richard Houston and Robert Cornell, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory (2012)
“Social Identification and Differences in External and Internal Auditor Objectivity”, with Robert Cornell. Current Issues in Auditing (2011).
“Does Wrongdoer Reputation Matter? Impact of Wrongdoer Performance and Likeability Reputations on Auditors’ Intention to Take Action and Choice of Reporting Outlet,” with Mary Curtis and Jesse Robertson (2011). Behavioral Research in Accounting.
“Formation and Consequences of Going Concern Opinions: A Review of the Literature,” with Jodi Gissel and Jesse Robertson (2010). Journal of Accounting Literature.
“The Effect of Magnitude of Audit Difference and Prior Client Concessions on Negotiations of Proposed Adjustments,” with Rick Hatfield, Rich Houston and Spencer Usrey (2010). The Accounting Review.
“The Causes and Consequences of Auditor Switching: A Review of the Literature,” with Richard Houston and Jesse Robertson. Journal of Accounting Literature (2009).
“When Auditors Err: The Impact of Mistake Significance and Superiors’ Historical Reactions on Staff Auditor Mistake Admission,” with Jesse Robertson (2009). International Journal of Auditing.
Education
B.S. Accounting, Central Michigan University (2002)
M.A.C Accounting, The University of Alabama (2003)
Ph.D. Accounting, The University of Alabama (2009)