Outcome information and the evaluation of auditor performance: The role of evidence recall, interpretation and weighting

While prior research has found that outcome information affects jurors' evaluations of auditor performance, little is known about the underlying cognitive processes that give rise to this outcome information effect in auditor liability settings. This study extends previous research in accounting and psychology by investigating whether jurors' recall, interpretation and weighting of trial evidence mediates the relationship between outcome information and the evaluation of the auditors' performance. The research question was examined using an experiment with 71 surrogate jurors. Path analytic modeling reveals that the effect of outcome information on the evaluation of the auditors' performance is mediated by the jurors' interpretation and weighting of the trial evidence, but that recall had no impact on the performance evaluations of the auditors.