ABSTRACT
This chapter conducts an enquiry into the nature of professional judgement in auditing to see if this is the case. The underlying objective of constructing a concept of professional judgement will be identified in an evaluative conceptual enquiry by examining various exercises of judgement and by considering its role in decision-making. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) study, Professional Judgment in Financial Reporting, defines judgment as the process of making a choice, a decision, leading to action. The brief descriptive enquiry into the concept of professional judgement reveals differences in the explanation. It constructed to capture the idea that a certain kind of reasoning is involved in decision-making. The conclusion about what to do is drawn from some kind of reasoning. Judgement is drawing conclusions about matters of fact or about what to do where the reasoning involved is not deductive. The characteristics of judgement that render it professional are explored.
