Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Hossein Etemadi
• Hassan Jabari

Abstract

This   study   investigates   the    effects    of    differential accountability pressure strength on auditors’ materiality judgment. We evaluate whether incremental levels of accountability (i.e., review, justification, feedback) increase judgment conservatism, decreases variability, and increase effort. Eighty four auditors participated in a between -subjects experiment   that   included    a   planning    materiality    task.   As predicted, auditors under higher levels of accountability pressure (i.e., justification, feedback) provided more conservatism materiality judgment and had less judgment variability than auditors under lower levels of pressure (i.e., review, anonymity). The results also indicate that accountability strength was positively related to the amount of time spent on the task and explanation length. We consider implications for research, practice, and policy in the context of the studies limitations.

Keywords

• Judgment
• Accountability
• Materiality