The relationship between accounting students' personality, professional skepticism and anticipatory socialization

Professional skepticism is an essential component of every successful audit. Research in psychology identified the trait professional skepticism as an enduring personality construct. The current study examines the relationship between the Big Five personality characteristics and accounting students' trait professional skepticism and their level of anticipatory socialization. Using a sample of 293 accounting students close to graduation, results indicate a positive relationship between Big Five personality characteristics and the trait professional skepticism, and between personality and anticipatory socialization. There is also a positive relationship between professional skepticism and anticipatory socialization. These results are useful to accounting educators who attempt to socialize accounting students into the profession.