Data analytics adoption in financial auditing: institutional pressures, conformity and resistance

Purpose This study aims to investigate the pressures influencing the adoption of data analytics (DA) in financial auditing in Tunisia. It further analyzes how audit firms respond to these pressures through different patterns of compliance and resistance. It further analyzes how audit firms respond to these pressures through different patterns of compliance and resistance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 54 semistructured interviews were conducted with external auditors across a mix of international and local firms. Findings The findings reveal a two-speed adoption process shaped by heterogeneous institutional responses. Auditors experience strong mimetic and normative pressures stemming from international firm networks and professional bodies. However, these pressures encounter resistance among local firms primarily serving small and medium-sized enterprises. Several institutional frictions appear to sustain this resistance, including limited financial resources, auditors’ insufficient advanced IT capabilities, clients’ low levels of digital maturity and the absence of explicit guidance from audit regulators. Practical implications This study contributes to audit literature by extending beyond technological acceptance models to provide a detailed, context-specific account of the institutional friction encountered in digital transformation in emerging economies. The findings also offer practical insights for regulators and audit firms seeking to address structural barriers and reduce the growing digital divide within the auditing profession. Originality/value This paper responds to calls by Kend and Nguyen (2022) and Gepp et al. (2018) for further empirical research aimed at improving our understanding of the use of audit DA practices, particularly in emerging market contexts. It contributes to the literature on DA adoption in financial auditing in three main ways. First, it examines how auditors in Tunisia, an emerging economy facing distinctive regulatory, institutional and digital infrastructure challenges, approach the adoption of DA. Second, drawing on institutional theory, this study goes beyond identifying the institutional pressures faced by auditors to analyze their responses, including substantive adoption, symbolic compliance and resistance. Third, by relying on in-depth interviews with practicing auditors, this study provides rich, contextualized insights into DA adoption processes that are often overlooked in predominantly quantitative research.