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Improving Complex Audit Judgments: A Framework and Evidence*†

We develop a framework for improving auditor judgment in complex audit tasks. The framework recognizes that high-quality judgment in complex tasks requires that auditors (1) possess the knowledge to perform analytical processing, (2) recognize the need for analytical (versus heuristic) processing, and (3) have the cognitive capacity to complete the processing. Based on the framework, we predict that auditors’ need for cognition (NFC), an individual characteristic theoretically linked to recognizing the need for analytical processing, is associated with better judgments in a complex audit task. Analysis across 11 studies shows that NFC is reliably associated with better complex audit judgments. We further predict and find that priming auditors with an accuracy goal will improve judgments, particularly for lower NFC auditors who are less likely to spontaneously recognize the need for analytical processing. The framework facilitates systematic development of interventions to improve auditor judgment by highlighting that interventions should address the specific conditions that cause judgment problems.