Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorBauer, Tim
dc.date.accessioned2011-11-29 18:34:01 (GMT)
dc.date.available2011-11-29 18:34:01 (GMT)
dc.date.issued2011-11-29T18:34:01Z
dc.date.submitted2011
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10012/6394
dc.description.abstractRecent accounting research suggests that auditor identification or familiarity with their clients may be an additional threat to auditor independence, which may be mitigated by a strong professional identity (King 2002; Bamber and Iyer 2007). However, social identity theory suggests that a strong professional identity will only be effective if it is highly salient and thus readily activated. Yet, professional identity salience is argued to have diminished in recent years (Warren and Alzola 2009). I examine if the level of professional identity salience moderates the positive association between auditor agreement with the client and client identity strength, or the negative association between auditor agreement with the client and professional identity strength. I address these research questions using two experiments completed by experienced professional auditors. In the first experiment with an ambiguous audit judgment task, I examine client identity strength and professional identity salience at two levels each and measure professional identity strength. Results show that auditors with stronger client identities agree more with the client, but only when professional identity salience is not heightened. I do not find that auditors with stronger professional identities agree less with the client, even when professional identity salience is heightened. In the second experiment with an unambiguous audit judgment task, I examine client identity strength at two levels when professional identity salience is not heightened. Results are inconclusive as to whether auditors with strong client identities differ in their agreement with the client, relative to auditors with weak client identities. My research contributes to literature on auditor identification and independence by demonstrating the importance of professional identity salience, not just professional identity strength, on auditor judgments. I also show that threats to auditor objectivity can arise from client identity that develops even without a familiar client relationship.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity of Waterlooen
dc.subjectAuditor Judgmentsen
dc.subjectSocial Identityen
dc.titleThe Effects of Situated Client Identity and Professional Identity Salience on Auditor Judgmentsen
dc.typeDoctoral Thesisen
dc.pendingfalseen
dc.subject.programAccountingen
uws-etd.degree.departmentSchool of Accountancyen
uws-etd.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
uws.typeOfResourceTexten
uws.peerReviewStatusUnrevieweden
uws.scholarLevelGraduateen


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record


UWSpace

University of Waterloo Library
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4883

All items in UWSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved.

DSpace software

Service outages