Group Judgment and Decision Making in Auditing

Group Judgment and Decision Making in Auditing
Author: Ken Trotman
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2016
Genre:
ISBN:

We examine the research literature on audit groups/teams focusing on three main areas: the hierarchical review process, brainstorming as part of the fraud detection planning process, and consultation within firms. We restrict our discussion of these three literatures to judgment and decision making (JDM) experiments. We consider research where two or more individuals within the audit firm interact with one another face-to-face, electronically, or where one person prepares/reviews working papers for another. We outline future research within each of the above areas, as well as considering other areas of future research involving within-firm group interactions related to audit teams in context, shared mental models, and audit team diversity (including sustainability assurance), as well as interactions with groups outside the audit firm, particularly audit committees.

Multi-Auditor Judgment and Decision-Making

Multi-Auditor Judgment and Decision-Making
Author: Kris Hardies
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

Most audit fieldwork is not conducted by a single auditor but by a team of auditors. Researchers have, however, focused heavily on the judgment and decision-making of individual auditors, ignoring the multi-person reality in which auditors have to make judgments and decisions. This study contributes to the literature by examining the performances of mixed and same-sex dyads on a group assignment for a course 'Financial Statement Analysis and Auditing'. In this quasi-experimental setting, we found a significant association between group performances and sex composition with mixed dyads performing best, followed by all-male dyads, and then all-female dyads. It is suggested that these findings are the result of the prescriptive nature of gender stereotypes activated by the masculine nature of auditing/accounting in general and the task at hand in particular.

Procedural Instrumentality and Audit Group Judgment

Procedural Instrumentality and Audit Group Judgment
Author: Gary Kleinman
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

The issue of auditor judgment prowess and resultant decision-making success has been an important topic in the behavioral auditing area for many years and has generated a voluminous research literature. However, relatively little literature exists on how differences in individual group member cognitive heuristics (fallibility) and ability impact the group process, and are impacted upon by the group process. This issue is important since so much of audit firm decision-making has its origins in audit group deliberations (Hunton, 2001). Accordingly, understanding circumstances that give rise to either more flawed (lsquo;process losses'), or better (lsquo;process gains'), group decision-making outcomes are important even though the literature generally recognizes the superiority of group over individual decision-making (e.g., Rich, Solomon and Trotman, 1997). The model developed here is intended to develop a better understanding of cognitive factors that impact positively or negatively on audit group process. We then develop a four stage model of group decision-making, during which the differing assets and liabilities (cognitive, ability, expertise) of audit group members are combined. The four stages are Diversity, Controvery, Insight and Resolution. These are then described at length.

Noise

Noise
Author: Daniel Kahneman
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 031645138X

From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Thinking, Fast and Slow and the coauthor of Nudge, a revolutionary exploration of why people make bad judgments and how to make better ones—"a tour de force” (New York Times). Imagine that two doctors in the same city give different diagnoses to identical patients—or that two judges in the same courthouse give markedly different sentences to people who have committed the same crime. Suppose that different interviewers at the same firm make different decisions about indistinguishable job applicants—or that when a company is handling customer complaints, the resolution depends on who happens to answer the phone. Now imagine that the same doctor, the same judge, the same interviewer, or the same customer service agent makes different decisions depending on whether it is morning or afternoon, or Monday rather than Wednesday. These are examples of noise: variability in judgments that should be identical. In Noise, Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein show the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, including medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection. Wherever there is judgment, there is noise. Yet, most of the time, individuals and organizations alike are unaware of it. They neglect noise. With a few simple remedies, people can reduce both noise and bias, and so make far better decisions. Packed with original ideas, and offering the same kinds of research-based insights that made Thinking, Fast and Slow and Nudge groundbreaking New York Times bestsellers, Noise explains how and why humans are so susceptible to noise in judgment—and what we can do about it.

Procedural Instrumentality and Audit Group Judgment

Procedural Instrumentality and Audit Group Judgment
Author: Gary Kleinman
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

The issue of auditor judgment prowess and resultant decision-making success has been an important topic in the behavioral auditing area for many years and has generated a voluminous research literature. However, relatively little literature exists on how differences in individual group member cognitive heuristics (fallibility) and ability impact the group process, and are impacted upon by the group process. This issue is important since so much of audit firm decision-making has its origins in audit group deliberations (Hunton, 2001). Accordingly, understanding circumstances that give rise to either more flawed ('process losses'), or better ('process gains'), group decision-making outcomes are important even though the literature generally recognizes the superiority of group over individual decision-making (e.g., Rich, Solomon and Trotman, 1997). The model developed here is intended to develop a better understanding of cognitive factors that impact positively or negatively on audit group process. We then develop a four stage model of group decision-making, during which the differing assets and liabilities (cognitive, ability, expertise) of audit group members are combined. The four stages are Diversity, Controvery, Insight and Resolution. These are then described at length.

Judgment and Decision Making Research in Auditing

Judgment and Decision Making Research in Auditing
Author: Mark W. Nelson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper discusses judgment and decision making research in auditing - i.e., research that uses a psychological lens to understand, evaluate, and improve judgments, decisions, or choices in an auditing setting. Much of this work uses the laboratory experiment approach, but we will also cover related studies that use survey and field study approaches. We classify extant auditing JDM literature as covering three broad areas: (a) the audit task, (b) the auditor and his/her attributes, and (c) interaction between auditor and other stakeholders in task performance. We use this task, person, and interaction categorization to assess the cumulative knowledge generated in the past 25 years, as well as to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research.

Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making

Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making
Author: Derek J. Koehler
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 680
Release: 2008-04-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0470752912

The Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making is a state-of-the art overview of current topics and research in the study of how people make evaluations, draw inferences, and make decisions under conditions of uncertainty and conflict. Contains contributions by experts from various disciplines that reflect current trends and controversies on judgment and decision making. Provides a glimpse at the many approaches that have been taken in the study of judgment and decision making and portrays the major findings in the field. Presents examinations of the broader roles of social, emotional, and cultural influences on decision making. Explores applications of judgment and decision making research to important problems in a variety of professional contexts, including finance, accounting, medicine, public policy, and the law.