A Participant Observation Study of the Resolution of Audit Engagement Challenges in Governmental Tax Compliance Audits

The previous auditing literature has examined how audit engagement challenges have been resolved through auditor/auditee negotiation. This paper extends the prior literature by examining audit engagement challenges arising during governmental tax compliance audits involving regulated wineries in the United States. The empirical evidence for this paper was gathered during a participant observation study conducted by the primary researcher over a six year period while working as an auditor for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) of the United States Department of Treasury. The principal contribution of this paper lies in the fact that little or no prior research in auditing has been conducted using participant observation as a research methodology. In addition, the use of participant observation as a research methodology provides a new perspective on the resolution of audit engagement challenges through improvement of auditor/auditee communication and negotiation.