Audit Managers’ Function-Life Balance Suffered During COVID-19
Six years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the debate surrounding return-to-office (RTO) mandates continues, highlighting the varying experiences of remote work based on individual and professional factors. A recent study sheds light on the impact of the abrupt shift to remote work on audit engagement leaders within Huge Four accounting firms.
Impact on Engagement Leaders
Researchers at George Mason University, University of Buffalo-SUNY, Temple University, and Georgia Southern University analyzed 1,919 Glassdoor reviews posted between January 1, 2018, and April 30, 2021, focusing on audit-employee reviews. Approximately three-quarters of these reviews were from Big Four firms. The study, published in Accounting Horizons, revealed a significant decline – around 13% – in self-reported work-life balance for engagement leaders (partners, directors, and managers) between 2019 and 2020, a contrast to the more gradual decline experienced by junior auditors. While work-life balance scores partially recovered in the second year of the pandemic, they did not return to pre-COVID levels.
Challenges of Remote Audit Management
The researchers suggest that maintaining work-life balance remains a challenge for engagement leaders in remote and hybrid work models. The inherent differences between remote and on-premises audits contribute to this issue. According to Steven Maex, assistant professor of accounting at Costello College of Business at George Mason University, remote work requires engagement leaders to dedicate considerable time to tracking dispersed team members. “As a manager, you have a pretty decent pulse on what’s happening in the engagement when everyone’s together in the office,” Maex explained. “You know what people are working on, whether they’re stuck, etc. When you depart at the finish of the day, you know where you are. When you’re stranded at home, you lose that intuitive sense. You try to cover that ground by having individual meetings with all of your team members.”
Factors Influencing the Impact
The impact on work-life balance wasn’t uniform. Big Four firms, with their advanced audit technologies, experienced a more muted effect, suggesting greater efficiency in remote work. Leaders managing international clients also reported less imbalance, likely due to their prior experience working across distances. Conversely, leaders at firms with financially distressed clients faced a more acute impact, requiring more intensive assessments.
Work Satisfaction and Audit Quality
Surprisingly, the decline in work-life balance did not affect engagement leaders’ overall job satisfaction or their intention to seek new employment. Maex notes that the benefits of working at these firms, combined with potentially limited external opportunities, may contribute to this resilience. However, the researchers emphasize that workforce disruption stemming from remote work should not be ignored. Previous research by co-authors Khavis and Krishnan has established a link between work-life balance and audit quality, indicating that overwork can have tangible consequences for business outcomes.
Finding a Middle Ground
The study suggests that abolishing remote work isn’t the answer, but rather implementing more effective policies. Maex advocates for granting engagement leaders some autonomy in determining where and how work is done, recognizing both the flexibility and the costs associated with remote work. “You may have this intuition that remote work is going to add flexibility and allow more work to get done,” says Maex. “But I think we also necessitate to recognize the costs that come with it.”
Source: George Mason University https://www.gmu.edu/news/stories/2026/03/audit-managers-work-life-balance-suffered-during-covid