Nudging to Improve Financial Auditors’ Behavior: Preliminary Results of an Experimental Study

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of adapting Audit Management Information System (AMIS) user interface using nudges on the attentional behavior of auditors during the identification and diagnosis of audit evidence indicative of aggressive financial reporting. Specifically, in this preliminary phase of our multi-step research project, we investigate the visual behaviors of nudged vs. non-nudged auditors during evidence review. We test our predictions using eye-tracking, in a controlled experiment where participants are tasked with performing an audit of financial reporting in a AMIS. Results prove that nudged conditions are associated with longer average fixation duration, fixation counts and revisits of accounts with aggressive reports. By identifying the visual attention differences of nudged and non-nudged conditions, we highlight how contextually adapting user interface can draw on nudges to effectively enhance audit performance.