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.
Karen V. Pincus (Sat,) studied this question.