THE EFFECTS OF GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY ON AUDIT GROUP DECISION-MAKING

The purpose of a Group Support System (GSS) is to facilitate group dec ision making and to share information and expertise within a group. In an experimental setting, 25 four-person groups of practicing auditors were used to examine a GSS's potential to improve audit decision maki ng. The experiment confirms that group decision making increases conse nsus and leads to a more complete problem-analysis, Moreover, the resu lts suggest that a GSS maintains the benefits of group decision making over individual decision making. In addition, compared to face-to-fac e (traditional) groups, GSS groups undertook a more thorough analysis of the problem and GSS group members exhibited a higher acceptance of the group decision. The results support the auditing potential of GSSs and provide some tentative insights for when and how a GSS could be e mployed in auditing.