Prior research demonstrates that forecast optimism is, in part, a consequence of analysts' cognitive reactions to the scenarios managers use to communicate future plans. In two experiments, we examine whether counter-explanation (explaining why managers' plans could fail) reduces...

Tax professionals are responsible for objectively evaluating tax authorities and evidence relevant to their application and for serving as client advocates. We predict that practice risk, i.e., exposure to monetary and nonmonetary costs of making inappropriate recommendations, will affect tax...

Prior research indicates that individuals acting as jurors experience outcome effects in audit negligence litigation. That is, jurors evaluate auditors more harshly in light of negative outcomes, even when audit quality is constant. I posit that outcome effects in this setting are caused by...

This study investigates whether providing higher quality audits increases auditors' chances of avoiding legal liability. Negligence rules hold auditors responsible for plaintiff losses only when the quality of the audit provided fails to meet standards of care. The results of my experiment...

This paper considers the use of Judgment and Decision Making (JDM) experiments in accounting. It begins with a description of the purpose and goal of JDM experiments in accounting. The bulk of the paper discusses critical issues in designing and implementing JDM-style experiments. Our primary...

Intrinsic motivation is generally thought to be positively associated with performance on a variety of tasks; however, there is only sparse experimental evidence supporting this idea and we know little about the specific mechanisms behind any effect. We develop theory about how auditors'...

U.S. auditors are concerned that the greater imprecision in accounting standards under IFRS will lead to increased legal liability. We conduct an experiment with 749 mock jurors to examine how juries evaluate auditor conduct under precise and imprecise standards. We find that juries return more...

Relevance and reliability (now referred to as “representational faithfulness”) are qualities of financial information that both the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board use in setting standards for financial reporting. Despite their...

Auditors frequently seek informal advice from peers to improve judgment quality, but the conditions under which advice improves auditor judgment are poorly understood. We predict and find evidence of a trust heuristic among auditors receiving advice from advisors with whom they share a social...

Auditors are subject to litigation exposure under federal securities laws and under state law. Research into auditors' liability under federal securities laws tends to make use of publicly available data from class action suits to examine factors associated with the incidence of litigation...