An Examination of Auditor Performance Evaluation.

Steven E. Kaplan; Phillp M. J. Reckers

doi:10.2308/tar-4506741

An Examination of Auditor Performance Evaluation.

Steven E. Kaplan¹; Phillp M. J. Reckers²

¹ Assistant Professor of Accounting, Arizona State University 1 · ² Professor of Accounting, Arizona State University. 2

The Accounting Review 1985

ABSTRACT: Decisions about a subordinate's behavior are among the most important control problems facing audit managers and partners. Green and Mitchell [1979] apply attribution theory to examine supervisors' decisions made following a subordinate's behavior. Green and Mitchell argue that an individual's causal attributions regarding a subordinate's behavior serve as mediators between the behavior of the subordinate and the action responses of the evaluator. This paper reports the results of a study that examines the attribution judgments and responses made by auditors following an incidence of an audit senior's poor performance. Employee work history and client history each significantly affect the attribution judgments made by auditors. Also, the attribution judgments were associated significantly with the recommended responses of auditors. Additional analyses showed that the association was higher for internal attributions and responses than for external attributions and responses.

DOI: 10.2308/tar-4506741
Volume: 60 (3)
Pages: 477-487
Language: en
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