Experience, Learning, and the Process of Expert Development

This paper examines the relationship between experience and its differential effects on the types of knowledge that drive an auditor's expert-like behaviors during performance of field tasks. A descriptive model showing how the accessibility of an auditor's environmental and strategic knowledge are affected by task experience is presented. Properties that account for the accessibility of an auditor's knowledge are defined and an experimental methodology proposed whereby the effects of exposure to a task environment are quantified. The model and methodology are then applied to an analysis of the task behaviors of four first-year auditors who performed audit-related tasks in simulated auditing environments. Findings provide insight into the process of expert development and limitations on the rate at which expertise can be acquired.