Practicing auditors from two Big 4 firms (12 locations of the less formalized firm and 11
locations of the formalized firm) participated in the study. The instrument was mailed to the participating offices and distributed by an office coordinator. The instruments were distributed in
two random orders: half received the internal control tasks first, and the other half received the ratio
analysis tasks first.5 After completing the tasks, all participants answered a questionnaire that
included items relating to their background and work experience and measures of problem-solving
ability and motivation. Participants recorded their answers and returned the material directly to the
authors. The overall response rate was 47 percent (43 percent for auditors from the formalized firm
and 51 percent for auditors from the less formalized firm).6 Pilot testing (with ten experienced
auditors evaluating the questionnaire) indicated that the instrument and exit questionnaire together
took approximately 45 minutes to complete.