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Jurors’ Evaluations of Decision-Aid Use in a Tax Malpractice Setting
Robert J Rufus,
Nova Southeastern University
John Sennetti, Nova Southeastern University
ABSTRACT. Lowe et al. (2002) demonstrate that the use of decision aids by auditors can influence jurors’ assessments of liability for audit failure. We extend this methodology to the field of tax practice, the largest revenue component of CPA firms and the source of most malpractice claims. Our study suggests that the use of decision aids, regardless of reliability, influences jurors’ assessments of liability for tax return failure, decreasing liability if the aid’s recommendation is implemented and increasing liability if the recommendation is overridden. We also test the influence of firm size, firm fees and demographic characteristics on jurors’ damage assessments. Consistent with prior research, we find that jurors are more likely to assess damages against a large firm. Contrary to prior research, we find that neither firm fees nor demographic characteristics are significantly related to jurors’ damage assessments.
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