| Abstract: | This research examined the effects of information order and hypothesis-testing strategies on audit judgements. Auditors started with high or low prior beliefs about an internal control system and then reviewed both positive and negative evidence. The results suggest that, unless specifically requested to do so, auditors do not generally seek confirming evidence. We also found that prior beliefs have an effect on the importance of information order: with high prior beliefs, subjects' judgements were unaffected by information order, while low prior beliefs were associated with a recency effect. |
