Algorithm-human partnership in audit data analytics and aggressiveness of management accounting estimates

• Main Author: Sheng, Peishu
• Other Authors: Tan Hun Tong
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Business::Accounting
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/164691
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Audit firms increasingly incorporate Audit Data Analytics (ADA). However, it is unclear how client managers react to the use of ADA. I experimentally examine how the presence (vs. absence) of an IT specialist and adjustment timing jointly affect the client manager’s acceptance of auditors’ proposed audit adjustments during the auditor-client negotiation process. I manipulate (1) whether the auditor performs ADA independently or the auditor performs ADA alongside a specialist, and (2) whether the auditor adjusts the ADA algorithm’s input parameters or output results. I find that when the ADA algorithm’s input (output) is adjusted, client managers accept more (less) proposed audit adjustments in the presence of a specialist. The interaction effect is driven by the client manager’s perceived persuasiveness of the ADA result and perceived auditor expertise. My findings contribute to audit literature on the use of ADA, auditor-client negotiation, and the “algorithm-human partnership,” and have implications for audit firms and corporate managers.