Auditor Judgment Concerning Establishment of Substantive Tests Based on Internal Control Reliability.
将内部控制评价分为识别、评估和解释三个阶段，发现审计师在给定系统可靠性数字时对实质性测试计划高度一致，而仅给组件可靠性数字时分歧很大，表明需要决策辅助工具。
Abstract The evaluation of Internal Control Systems has been considered mainly as a single-stage process in the current literature. This paper at- tempts to reconcile some apparently discrepant research findings [Gaunmitz et al., 1982; Joyce, 1976] by dividing the process into three different stages: 1) identification, 2) evaluation, and 3) interpretation. The final stage, where auditors restrict substantive tests based on their perception of internal control strength, was analyzed in descriptive terms. A high degree of consensus was found in the substantive test planning decisions when the system reliability numbers were provided, Meanwhile, large divergence was observed when only component reliability numbers were provided. Therefore, the experimental results indicate that auditors will disagree on how to aggregate audit evidence, but once one aggregation rule is established, high consensus will follow. These findings reconcile the above-mentioned, previously discrepant findings and lend credibility to the need and desirability of using internal control reliability decision aids. To shed further light on this judgment process, a descriptive mathematical model is also developed and tested, with encouraging results for further research.