Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Accountability on Auditor Judgments.

Abstract This study examines the effect of accountability on auditor judgment. Professional auditors completed an inventory task in which they assessed the risk of obsolescence for 20 inventory items. The auditors were assigned to one of two groups. Auditors in the accountable group were told that their judgments would be reviewed and that they would be asked to explain their judgments. Auditors in the control group were told that their judgments were anonymous. Auditors in the accountable group displayed higher consensus and self-insight than auditors in the control group. The results of the paper suggest that motivation induced by naturally occurring elements of the auditor's decision environment can mitigate shortcomings in auditor judgments.