PERCEPTION DE L'INDÉPENDANCE DE L'AUDITEUR: ANALYSE PAR LA THÉORIE D'ATTRIBUTION

Emna Ben Saad and Cédric Lesage
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Emna Ben Saad: HEC Paris - Recherche - Hors Laboratoire - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales
Cédric Lesage: HEC Paris - Recherche - Hors Laboratoire - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales

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Abstract: "Where was the auditor?" is one of the first questions asked by most investors when they suffer significant losses. We study this almost systematic behavior of shareholders when they appreciate the auditor's independence into the attribution theory framework. The difference between the actual and the perceived independence is related to the expectation gap concept. We hypothesize that the expectation gap could be related to an attribution phenomenon. In a laboratory experiment setting, we ask 86 MBA students (acting as shareholders) to assess the auditor's or auditee's responsibility in a case of accounting fraud. We manipulate the internal attribution factors of the auditor and the auditee. Our results show that the attribution phenomenon explains the blame of the auditor only in cases where auditor and auditee are both involved. Additional results are disclosed and discussed.

Keywords: laboratory experiment; attribution theory; Audit; indépendance; théorie de l'attribution; expectation gap; expérimentation de laboratoire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-05-27
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00460618
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Published in La place de la dimension européenne dans la Comptabilité Contrôle Audit, May 2009, Strasbourg, France. pp.CD ROM

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