The Interplay of Interpersonal Affect and Source Reliability on Auditors' Inventory Judgments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhattacharjee, Sudip; Moreno, Kimberly K.; Riley, Tracey
• 署名单位: Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University; Northeastern University; Suffolk University
• 刊物名称: CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0823-9150
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1911-3846.2011.01139.x
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 1087-+
• 关键词: source credibility; decision-making; persuasion; INFORMATION; sensitivity; IMPACT; mood; expectations; inference; students

摘要

Research has found that auditors are sensitive to source reliability factors, primarily focusing on competence, objectivity, and integrity. However, psychology research suggests that other source characteristics can influence persuasion. Little auditing research to date has examined other source factors that can impact persuasion on their own or, more importantly, how they may interact with known source characteristics like competence and objectivity to influence audit judgment. One such source characteristic prevalent in auditing is interpersonal affect, since interactions between auditors and clients can lead to emotional reactions. Although unrelated to other source characteristics investigated in prior audit research, personality-based interpersonal affect has the potential to impact auditors' judgments inappropriately. This research examined if personality-based interpersonal affect influences auditors' sensitivity to source competence when assessing inventory obsolescence. Using an experiment, we found that negative interpersonal affect toward management led to likelihood ratings and workpaper documentation indicative of higher obsolescence risk when information was received from a lower rather than a higher competence client, widening the differences typically found between lower and higher competence sources. Alternatively, a positive affective reaction toward a lower competence client led to similar obsolescence ratings and the documentation of more items indicative of decreased obsolescence than toward a higher competence source. These results extend accounting and psychology research by lending insight into how auditors' sensitivity to source competence can be changed by interpersonal affect. Since auditors' judgments and workpaper documentation are used by audit superiors in subsequent decision making, these findings have effectiveness and efficiency implications and suggest that training may be warranted.