Auditor negotiations with management over subjective issues are pervasive (Trotman et al. 2005) and irrelevant information is routinely present in the audit (Hackenbrack 1992). We extend the audit expla nation literature by demonstrating how management persuasion tactics can interact with irrelevant information. In addition, we show that the perceived adequacy of management's explanation has a strong effect on related auditor judgments, an effect not acknowledged in auditing standards. Finally, we extend prior research on internal control evaluation as part of the financial statement audit to that of a SOX 404 internal control audit.