Cognitive Biases for Accountants

Overview:

Cognitive biases are thinking errors and “brain bugs” that may distort perceptions, compromise ethics, trigger inaccurate judgments, and spark illogical interpretations in your accounting work.

This course provides a concise overview of cognitive biases. You will discover the most common types of cognitive biases in the accounting profession, and how to recognize and address these flaws and blind spots in your “mental firmware”.

Course Content:

In this course, you will gain knowledge about the following topics:

·         Cognitive bias fundamentals

·         Behavioral insights principles

·         Why cognitive bias is not necessarily bad

·         How cognitive bias is used to influence your behavior as a consumer

·         Common cognitive errors in accounting

·         Why good accountants do bad audits

·         Strategies to address cognitive bias

·         How to prime yourself and your environment to make better decisions

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, you should be able to: 

·         When making a decision, practitioners will be able to identify at least 5 ways cognitive biases may distort how they view a problem and what solutions they may consider

·         When examining their thought process, practitioners will be able to explain at least 5 ways your brain may lead you to make illogical interpretations

·         When shopping, practitioners will be able to point out at least 12 ways cognitive biases are used to hijack your psychological vulnerabilities

·         When doing routine accounting work, practitioners will be able to list at least 10 cognitive biases that are specific to the accounting profession

·         When seeking ways to minimize cognitive biases, practitioners will be able to give examples of at least 10 strategies to minimize illogical or irrational thinking

Who Will Benefit: 

Practitioners who want to improve their decisions by developing an awareness of the biases that may affect their thought process and problem-solving.