The effects of decision consequences on auditors' reliance on decision aids in audit planning

This study examines the effects of decision consequences on reliance on a mechanical decision aid. Experimental participants made planning choices on cases with available input from an actual management fraud decision aid. Participants examined each case, made an initial planning judgment, received the decision aid's prediction of the likelihood of management fraud, and made a final planning judgment. This sequence documents two types of nonreliance: (1) intentionally shifting the final planning judgment away from the aid's prediction even though this prediction supports the initial planning judgment and (2) ignoring the aid when its prediction does not support the initial planning judgment. Results are consistent with a pressure-arousal-performance explanation of the effects of decision consequences on intentional shifting, but do not support any particular explanation of the effects of decision consequences on ignoring.