THE EFFECT OF CONTAINMENT INFORMATION AND ERROR FREQUENCY ON PROJECTION OF SAMPLE ERRORS TO AUDIT POPULATIONS

• 成果类型: Note
• 署名作者: DUSENBURY, RB; REIMERS, JL; WHEELER, SW
• 署名单位: University of South Carolina System; University of South Carolina Columbia
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• 发表日期: 1994
• 页码: 257-264
• 关键词: decision aid

摘要

This paper builds upon the work of Burgstahler and Jiambalvo (1986a, 1986b) on auditors' estimation of error through sampling. Burgstahler and Jiambalvo used a ball-and-urn inference model to argue that the isolation of sample errors violates professional auditing standards. They speculated that context-specific data about sample errors induces uniqueness perceptions that, in turn, cause auditors non-normatively to isolate the errors. We extend their research by manipulating two variables they suggested, but did not test: (1) containment information, which indicates whether the discovered error is limited to a well-defined subpopulation of unsampled items; and (2) preceived frequency of errors, which is directly related to the similarity of an error to other potential errors. Our results show that containment information strongly affects the projection-isolation decision, regardless of the perceived frequency of the error. In our empirical work, error frequency also affects the judgment. These findings suggest that containment information does not affect the decision solely by inducing perceptions of uniqueness but rather has a direct effect on it. Additional research is needed to describe and understand more fully this important judgment.