Blockchain, an advanced technology with immense capabilities, is disrupting industries and global commerce. Given blockchain’s complexity, investors will likely rely heavily upon information communicated by management and auditors to understand the risks and benefits of companies using blockchain. In this study, we experimentally investigate how management and auditor communications regarding a company’s use of advanced technology affects nonprofessional investor judgments. First, we investigate if these investors change their judgments depending upon whether management’s descriptions of the advanced technology in the 10-K specifically reference blockchain or not, as prior research suggests investors could react positively or negatively. We also examine whether the presence of a critical audit matter (CAM) related to the advanced technology interacts with specific blockchain references to affect investor judgments, as our theory predicts the combination of a blockchain reference and a technology-related CAM will prompt less investment. Absent a technology-related CAM, we find no evidence that blockchain references influence investor judgments. However, we find that when blockchain references accompany a technology-related CAM, investors indicate less investment. Altogether, these findings contribute to the literature by highlighting the interactive effect of management and auditor communications concerning advanced technologies, as these reporting choices affect the judgments and decision-making of nonprofessional investors.

区块链是一种功能强大的先进技术，正在颠覆行业和全球商业。鉴于区块链的复杂性，投资者可能会严重依赖管理层和审计师传达的信息来了解使用区块链的公司的风险和收益。在这项研究中，我们通过实验调查了管理层和审计师关于公司使用先进技术的沟通如何影响非专业投资者的判断。首先，我们调查这些投资者是否会根据管理层对 10-K 中先进技术的描述是否特别提到区块链来改变他们的判断，因为先前的研究表明投资者可能会做出积极或消极的反应。我们还研究了与先进技术相关的关键审计事项 (CAM) 的存在是否与特定的区块链参考相互作用以影响投资者的判断，因为我们的理论预测区块链参考和技术相关 CAM 的结合将减少投资。由于缺乏与技术相关的 CAM，我们没有发现区块链参考影响投资者判断的证据。然而，我们发现当区块链参考伴随着与技术相关的 CAM 时，投资者表示投资较少。总而言之，这些发现通过强调管理和审计师沟通在先进技术方面的交互作用对文献做出了贡献，因为这些报告选择会影响非专业投资者的判断和决策。