Auditor Individual Differences and Fairness of Presentation Judgments.

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between auditor individual differences and fairness of presentation judgments. One-hundred and nineteen auditors were asked to make a judgment about the fairness of presentation of an inventory account for a case modeled after an actual client engagement. Unbeknownst to the auditor-subjects, the inventory account was materially misstated due to management manipulation. Three Individual difference variables--field dependence-independence, ambiguity tolerance-intolerance, and category width--were hypothesized to be related to auditors' performance of this task, in accordance with expectations, the field-independent and ambiguity-intolerant auditors made more judgments consistent with the misstated nature of this case than the other auditors. No significant difference based on category width was observed.