Assertion-Evidence-Connection and XBRL Media in Audit Planning: Experimental Evidence

Abstract

This study examines the effect of the Assertion-Evidence-Connection audit learning method and the use of XBRL-based financial reporting media on the effectiveness of audit planning, particularly on accuracy in assessing the risk of material misstatement. Using a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design, 57 sixth-semester accounting students were assigned to one of four treatment groups, and their audit planning accuracy was analyzed using two-way ANOVA. The results show that students taught with the Assertion-Evidence-Connection method achieved significantly higher accuracy in assessing the risk of material misstatement than those taught conventionally, whereas students who used XBRL-based financial reporting media were not significantly more accurate than students without access to XBRL data, and no significant interaction effect was found between the two factors; this indicates that the Assertion-Evidence-Connection method, rather than XBRL media, is the primary driver of audit planning accuracy in this sample. These findings extend contextual learning theory by showing that explicitly connecting assertions, objectives, and evidence within a single instructional sequence strengthens novice auditors' professional judgment, and they support the view that audit technology and auditor reasoning are complements rather than substitutes; practically, accounting educators and audit firms should prioritize assertion-based reasoning instruction as the primary lever for improving audit planning accuracy, rather than assuming that access to structured, machine-readable reporting formats such as XBRL will improve judgment on its own. This study offers novel experimental evidence on the combined, rather than isolated, effect of an integrated audit learning method and XBRL-based reporting media on audit planning effectiveness.