Het effect van het risico gebaseerde toezicht op de mate van objectiviteit tijdens oordeel-en besluitvormingsprocessen van de financieel inspecteur.

Abstract

Research in information order effects in accounting practice show that accounting practitioners often search for information or weigh evidence more that will support their initial hypothesis (confirmation bias). This study tries to investigate to what extent accounting practitioners (financial inspectors) of the Education Inspectorate exhibit confirmation bias during judgment and decision-making processes. This is especially relevant for the Education Inspectorate, as it performs risk-based inspections that encourages a highly sequential methodology in information evaluation. Using a sample of twenty accounting practitioners (N=20) of the Education Inspectorate this study analyzed the sample responses to eight vignettes to test whether sequential evidence evaluation results in confirmation bias. The results suggest that the financial inspectors of the Education Inspectorate during the evaluation of new (financial and non financial) information are more prone to information that confirms the initial expectations. This confirmation bias holds for different conditions such as experience levels, task complexity and normative expectations. The results of this study can be used for future research in information order effects.