The Effects of Accountability on Individual Brainstorming Performance

• In Event: SESSION 8C: Auditing

Abstract

This study is concerned with the effects of accountability on the auditor’s individual performance when preparing for brainstorming sessions. We investigate how accountability influences the number and quality of fraud risk ideas generated and the preparation time taken to generate ideas. Brainstorming has been found to improve an auditor’s detection of fraud during an audit. Despite this, little research exists on the preparation stage of brainstorming and what factors might improve brainstorming performance. We conduct an experiment using accounting students to examine the influence of induced accountability on individual brainstorming preparation. We anticipate our results to indicate that individuals who are held accountable will generate a significantly lower number of fraud risk ideas than individuals who are held not accountable, but will generate a greater number of correct responses for fraud risk factors. Further, we expect that accountable participants will spend more time preparing for the group brainstorming session.

Authors

• Shani Nicole Robinson, Sam Houston State University

• Jan Taylor Morris, Sam Houston State University

• Cassy Henderson, Sam Houston State University