MGSC46H3 : Why Good Accountants do Bad Audits
19 Mar 2011
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Document Summary
Our desires powerfully influence the way we interpret information, even when were trying to be objective and impartial. Armed with the same information, different people reach different conclusions ones that favour their own interests. Bias thrives wherever there is the possibility of interpreting information in different ways. Once people equate their own interest with another partys, they interpret data to favour that party. Self-serving biases, become even stronger when people are endorsing others biased judgements align with their own biases than when they are making original judgments themselves. Familiarity: people are more willing to harm strangers than individuals they know. Discounting: people tend to be far more responsive to immediate consequences than delayed ones, especially when the delayed outcomes are uncertain. Escalation: its natural for people to conceal or explain away minor indiscretions or oversights, sometimes without even realizing that theyre doing it.
