The influence of domain knowledge and task complexity on tax professionals' compliance recommendations

Abstract

This study examined how procedural knowledge and outcome expectations interact with task complexity when tax professionals develop recommendations for clients. Practicing tax professionals participated in two experiments. Results suggest that outcome expectations about whether a position can be defended are positively associated with aggressive recommendations. As complexity increases, professionals with more procedural knowledge (a) favor less aggressive recommendations and (b) rely more heavily on their outcome expectations. These findings illustrate the importance of accounting for knowledge as a two-dimensional construct.