International Journal of Auditing 1(1), 43–59 (1997) The Influence of Outcome Effects, Decision Aid Usage, and Intolerance of Ambiguity on Evaluations of Professional Audit Judgement D. Jordan Lowe 1 and Philip M. J. Reckers 2 1 Department of Accounting, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0101, USA 2 Department of Account- ing, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-3606, USA Auditors’ performance is evaluated in a variety of contexts and at various time intervals following professional conduct. Outcome knowledge is often available prior to evaluation, and accordingly, evaluations may reflect hindsight biases. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of outcome knowledge on evaluations of professional audit judgement. Specifically, we hypothesize that outcome effects will be altered by two factors: (1) conduct that involves the incomplete use (truncated applica- tion) of available decision aids and (2) the degree to which evaluators exhibit intolerance of ambiguity. We also examined the interaction of these two factors. Results of our experiment confirmed our hypotheses regarding the influence of decision aid usage and individuals’ intolerance of ambiguity on outcome effects. Negative, non-normative outcome effects were strongest when available analytical procedures decision aids were only partially utilized; participants who were intolerant of ambiguity were subject to hindsight biases, while tolerant subjects were not. Implications are discussed in terms relating to (internal) perfor- mance evaluations and extensions to external legal liability. 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Audit. 1(1), 43–59 (1997) (No. of Figures: 1 No. of Tables: 1 No. of Refs: 60) Key words: Received December 1995 CCC 1090–6738/97/010043-17 $17.50 Revised July 1996 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted September 1996 SUMMARY Valid evaluations of auditor performance repre- sent an important task to the profession. Apprai- sals of auditors occur externally in courts of law and internally pursuant to audit scheduling and renumeration decisions and, ultimately, pursuant to retention and promotion decisions. In spite of its importance, limited research has addressed performance review in public accounting. This is somewhat ironic given that internal performance review is an essential element in the individual’s development process and in the firm’s effort to Data Availability: Data used in this study are available from the authors.