Extending and Ranking the Audit Judgment Factors in an Emerging Market With an Emphasis on Cognitive Neuroscience

The current study investigated whether the cognitive neuroscience dimension affects auditors’ judgment in an increasingly competitive emerging audit market. In addition, other influential dimensions, including “identity characteristics,” “biological characteristics and moral values and spirituality,” and “environment” were also considered. The research was a descriptive survey, and the statistical population consisted of independent auditors. The field survey and questionnaire were used for data collection. The results generally showed that the cognitive neuroscience dimension affects auditors’ judgment positively. Among the examined factors, “the auditor’s selectivity about which problems to solve,” “the auditor’s level of attention,” and “the level of concentration” were the most important factors. In addition, other investigated dimensions, including “identity characteristics,” “biological characteristics and moral values and spirituality,” and “environment,” were considered influential factors. The findings imply that different neuroscience factors that require more research in this area affect auditors’ judgment and performance. Studying cognitive neuroscience factors as a novel stance to the audit literature can help auditors improve their professional judgments and opinions, resulting in reduced audit risk and increased audit quality. It can also help develop a new era in interdisciplinary studies via associating decision-making with cognitive theories and implementing neuroscience related technologies.