Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2011
Abstract
This paper reports on the effect of a self-fulfilling prophecy on issuing a going concern opinion. A thorough analysis of the academic accounting literature and the popular press is performed to develop a better understanding of the rationales used by auditors in their decision to issue, or not to issue a going concern opinion. Based on the input of an expert panel, a literature review, and other quantitative criteria, the visibility and importance of these rationales is determined. A questionnaire is then developed to measure if the self-fulfilling prophecy has a role in auditors' decision to issue, or not to issue a going concern opinion. This questionnaire is administered to randomly selected CPAs in Illinois and also to auditing students at Eastern Illinois University. The psychometric properties of this questionnaire are thoroughly tested using statistical techniques like Cronbach's Alpha. The paper also uses statistical techniques like factor analysis, Scree plots, and perceptual maps to understand the underlying dimensions of a CPA's decision to issue, or not to issue a going concern opinion. Finally, the paper uses statistical techniques like t-testing to determine if significant differences exist between the respondents.
Recommended Citation
Stone, Trey M., "The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy's Effect on an Auditor's Issuance of a GCO" (2011). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 5.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/honors_theses/5
