The Effect of Information Presentation Structures on Audit Planning and Review Judgments

Contemporary Accounting Research, 1985, Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 193-218

Posted: 6 Dec 2014

See all articles by J. Efrim Boritz

J. Efrim Boritz

University of Waterloo - School of Accounting and Finance

Date Written: 1985

Abstract

This study examines the effect of data structuring techniques on audit judgments by comparing responses based on information cues arranged according to a hierarchically structured template with the response to identical cues arranged in a simple list. Forty auditors, at five different levels of expertise, reviewed the audit strategy of a hypothetical senior and provided evaluations of the original plan, a revised set of plans, and reports of their difficulty in making the required judgments. The experimental task involved 16 cases, in which types of transaction processing systems (i.e., manual and computerized), and internal control cues, were manipulated in addition to the format of presenting information. Structure of information presentation appears to play a significant role in the evaluations and plans of the auditors, but is considered to contribute substantially to the difficulty of making judgments. In most cases, structure appears to contribute to uniformity of responses; but, in some instances it actually seems to exaggerate differences in auditors' judgments.

Keywords: data structures, auditing, business planning, accounting standards, internal auditing, computerized accounting systems

Suggested Citation

Boritz, Efrim, The Effect of Information Presentation Structures on Audit Planning and Review Judgments (1985). Contemporary Accounting Research, 1985, Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 193-218, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2534085

Efrim Boritz (Contact Author)

University of Waterloo - School of Accounting and Finance ( email )

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