Knowledge Acquisition in Auditing: Training Novice Auditors to Recognize Cue Relationships in Real Estate Valuation

Abstract

This study examines novice auditors' knowledge acquisition. I investigate whether low‐cost, informal training interventions improve knowledge acquisition in complex auditing tasks. I designed an experiment that tests the effect of two alternative training approaches on audit judgment performance: explanatory feedback (a replication and extension of Bonner and Walker [1994]), and self‐explanation of the rationale underlying a judgment of reasonableness. The results suggest that each approach promotes procedural knowledge acquisition, and combining the two approaches provides more benefit than either approach alone. The effectiveness of the self‐explanation approach is primarily attributable to the learner's level of reasoning. Adding explanatory feedback to self‐explanations has no incremental effect after controlling for the effect of the learner's reasoning. The paper discusses the implications of these results for the design of audit training environments.