Does client participation in an external audit affect their satisfaction with the audit service?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if self-serving bias affects audit client satisfaction level with their audit firm. Design/methodology/approach – A 2×2 between-subjects design is used, where the authors experimentally manipulate the level of client involvement in the audit and the extent of value-added services the client received. Findings – Using a sample of 115 financial managers (audit clients), the authors find no evidence that self-serving bias exists among clients in the experimental setting. Rather, they find that clients appear to be more satisfied with their auditor when they (clients) participate more in the service exchange. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to a specific context within the privately held company audit setting. Practical implications – Audit firms may consider encouraging their privately held clients to participate more in the audit process by clearly communicating expectations and providing clients with audit preparedness materials, including templates and training where necessary. Originality/value – Although the self-serving bias has been shown to exist in the marketing literature, the authors present a setting where the relationship between service provider (auditor) and customer (client) is such that the self-serving bias may not hold.