The Full-Range Leadership : Enacted by Swedish audit team managers

Abstract: Title: The Full-Range Leadership enacted by Swedish Audit team managers Background: The background of this study mainly relies on Leadership theories, more precisely theories about the Full-Range leadership model (FRL) and its features. However, key facts about the audit are also displayed in this part of the report to present it to readers. Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to add to existing theory on the universalistic feature of the Full-Range Leadership model through the case of Swedish audit team managers. Such purpose entails the definition and the explanation on how the model of Full-Range Leadership is enacted by Swedish audit team managers in their day-to-day practice of leadership. Originality/Value: This research paper is one of the few researches at puzzling out existing researches to contribute clearly to the Full-Range Leadership model -as developed by Bass and Avolio- in the audit context. Furthermore, this is the first study aiming at defining and explaining Swedish audit team managers’ leadership practice and emphasizing the non-managing audit staff for so. Practical implication: After the destruction of a great amount of money resulting from corporate financial scandals and the discovery of high level of dysfunctional behaviors occurring in the audit/accounting profession worldwide, growing number of studies investigated further financial systems and particularly audit professionals since they are supposed to be the ‘public watchdog’/‘public guardian of trust’ of worldwide markets and Economies and so, display strong values and rigor. In parallel, considerable number of studies demonstrated that leadership was the key to those issues. This study while putting the light on leadership practice in Swedish audit firms, wide opens the door for further reflections and improvement of the existing systems. Method: The featured piece of research is based on a field survey of the non-managing audit staff working in Swedish audit firms, which were asked to assess their managers through the use of the Multi-factor questionnaire X5 (short version). Findings: The study unveiled that even if the transformational leadership was the most enacted leadership by Swedish audit team managers and that so before transactional and passive/avoidant leadership, a great misalignment existed between the found-out empirical FRL model and the FRL model as defined theoretically. Accordingly, this study unveiled that the FRL model was not as universal as claimed when investigated in the Swedish audit firm context.