The Outcome Effect and Professional Skepticism

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Brazel, Joseph F.; Jackson, Scott B.; Schaefer, Tammie J.; Stewart, Bryan W.
• 署名单位: North Carolina State University; University of South Carolina System; University of South Carolina Columbia; University of Missouri System; University of Missouri Kansas City; Brigham Young University
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• DOI: 10.2308/accr-51448
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 1577-1599
• 关键词: PERFORMANCE EVALUATION; Hindsight bias; DECISION; RISK; QUALITY

摘要

Despite the importance placed on professional skepticism by the accounting profession and regulators, the failure of auditors to exercise an appropriate level of skepticism continues to be a global issue. We experimentally test a potential barrier to skepticism. We find that outcome knowledge biases supervisors' evaluations of skeptical behavior. Holding a staff member's skeptical judgments and acts constant, superiors on the engagement team evaluate the staff's skeptical behavior based on whether the staff's investigation of an issue ultimately identifies a misstatement. Our evidence suggests that evaluators penalize auditors who employ an appropriate level of skepticism, but do not identify a misstatement. Although consultation with their superiors while exercising skepticism improved staff auditors' performance evaluations, consultation did not effectively mitigate the outcome effect on their evaluations. Last, we observe that auditors in the field anticipate that their superiors will be influenced by outcome knowledge when they evaluate their skeptical behavior. Collectively, our results depict an evaluation system that may inadvertently discourage skepticism among auditors in the field.