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Niko Os­kari Som­ila

Ph.d. Fellow

Subjects
Decision-making Accounting Auditing Methodology Stress

Primary research areas

Stress and Audit Judg­ment
I study how stress, such as tight dead­lines or ac­count­ab­il­ity, changes the way aud­it­ors make de­cisions. This helps us un­der­stand when stress harms judg­ment and what can be done to pro­tect audit qual­ity.
Im­pli­cit Bias Between Aud­it­or Mind­sets
Aud­it­ors can think very dif­fer­ently — some are more skep­tic­al, oth­ers more trust­ing. I look at wheth­er these groups carry hid­den bi­ases against each oth­er, and how this af­fects team­work and de­cision-mak­ing.
In­ter­ven­tions to Re­duce Pro­fes­sion­al Bias
I test short ex­er­cises, like re­flect­ing on per­son­al val­ues or re­think­ing ste­reo­types, to see if they can re­duce bias between dif­fer­ent aud­it­or mind­sets. The goal is to find prac­tic­al tools that make audit teams more open and ef­fect­ive.

I ex­plore how aud­it­ors — and people — make bet­ter de­cisions.

My research explores how auditors make better decisions when facing stress, pressure, and hidden biases. By combining cognitive neuroscience (MEG brain imaging) with experimental tasks, I study the human side of judgment in a field where objectivity and trust are critical. 

The impact of my work is to help strengthen audit quality and teamwork in organizations. By showing how stress influences judgment, how biases emerge between different professional mindsets, and how short interventions can reduce those biases, my research offers insights for training, regulation, and leadership. 

I am motivated by bridging business research and neuroscience to understand decision-making at a deeper level. My ambition is to provide both scientific contributions and practical solutions that help auditors — and decision-makers more broadly — work under pressure while remaining fair, skeptical, and collaborative. 

Outside activities

Cur­rently, I have no out­side em­ploy­ments or activ­it­ies , -