An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between Auditor Gender and Decision-Making Under Ambiguity

Posted: Jul 16, 2021

• Alice Newman
• Maddox Pierce
• Olivia Flores

Abstract

The auditing profession operates in an environment increasingly characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and information ambiguity. As financial transactions become more sophisticated and fraud schemes more elaborate, auditors frequently encounter situations where evidence is incomplete, contradictory, or subject to multiple interpretations. This research addresses a critical gap in the accounting literature by examining how auditor gender influences decision-making processes under such ambiguous conditions. While substantial research exists on gender differences in various professional domains, the specific intersection of gender, ambiguity, and audit judgment remains underexplored. Traditional audit methodologies often assume a degree of rationality and consistency in professional judgment that may not account for individual differences in cognitive processing. The growing recognition of behavioral factors in accounting has highlighted the need to understand how demographic characteristics, including gender, might influence audit effectiveness. This study builds upon the foundational work of Ahmad, Malik, and Khan (2021) in forensic accounting and information systems auditing, extending their coordinated approach to fraud investigation by incorporating gender as a significant variable in audit decision-making.