Accounting Students’ Sensitivity to Attributes of Information Integrity

51 Pages Posted: 1 Nov 2014

See all articles by Leslie Berger

Leslie Berger

Wilfrid Laurier University - School of Business & Economics

J. Efrim Boritz

University of Waterloo - School of Accounting and Finance

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Date Written: May 1, 2012

Abstract

This study investigates how students incorporate information integrity impairments into judgments and judgment confidence. The effects of four information integrity attributes (completeness, currency, accuracy and authorization) were examined. Our results show that accounting students incorporate some information integrity attributes into their judgments and judgment confidence. As the severity of the integrity impairments increased, accounting students assigned more weight to information integrity impairments in judging the performance of division managers. We find that accounting students’ judgments are incorrectly influenced by information integrity. Performance judgments were positively correlated with the level of information integrity as if the accounting students were rewarding or penalizing managers for the integrity of the information. Our results indicate that as information integrity impairments increase, students are more interested in postponing their judgments to seek additional information. Given the importance of information integrity in the accounting profession, it is critical that accounting students develop the ability to appropriately consider information integrity impairments when making judgments. The results of this study are important to accounting instructors that teach information integrity issues in their courses.

Keywords: Information Integrity, Accounting Students, Judgment, Judgment Confidence

Suggested Citation

Berger, Leslie and Boritz, Efrim, Accounting Students’ Sensitivity to Attributes of Information Integrity (May 1, 2012). Issues in Accounting Education, Vol. 27, No. 4, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2088111

Leslie Berger

Wilfrid Laurier University - School of Business & Economics ( email )

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5
CANADA

Efrim Boritz (Contact Author)

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

200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 N2L 3G1
Canada
519-888-4567 (Phone)
519-888-7562 (Fax)

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