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8.
8.1.
The auditor, in the conduct of an audit, is required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial
statements taken as a whole are free from material misstatements. Misstatements in the financial
statement could arise as a result of fraud or error. The distinguishing factor between fraud and
error is whether the underlying action that results in the misstatement is intentional (fraud) or
unintentional (error).
Error refers to an unintentional misstatement in the financial statements, including the omission of
an amount or a disclosure, which could include:
A mistake in gathering or processing data from which financial statements are prepared.
An incorrect accounting estimate arising from oversight or misinterpretation of facts.
A mistake in the application of accounting polices relating to measurement, recognition,
classification, presentation or disclosure.
Fraud refers to an intentional act by one or more individuals among management, those charged
with governance, employees, or third parties, involving the use of deception to obtain an unjust or
illegal advantage. Though fraud is a broad legal concept, the auditor is just concerned with fraud
that causes a material misstatement in the financial statements. In carrying out an audit, we are not
required to make legal determination of whether the fraud has actually occurred. The two types of
fraud relevant to in the conduct of an audit are:
Misstatements resulting from fraudulent financial activities.
Misstatements resulting from misappropriation of assets.
Fraud involving one or more members of management or those charged with governance is referred
to as management fraud; while fraud involving only employees of the entity is referred to as
employee fraud. In either case, there may be collusion with third parties outside the entity.
While the general audit procedures that the engagement team is required to follow to detect
misstatements are covered in the other sections of the manual, this chapter provides additional
considerations that the team should take into account in designing the audit procedures to enable
them to have reasonable expectations to detecting misstatements arising from fraud. Owing to the
inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that some material misstatements of the
financial statements will not be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and performed in
accordance with the ISAs. An audit does not guarantee all material misstatements will be detected
because of such factors as the use of judgment, the use of testing, the inherent limitations of internal
control and the fact that much of the evidence available to the auditor is persuasive rather than
conclusive in nature. For these reasons, one can only obtain reasonable assurance that material
misstatements in the financial statements will be detected. The fact that an audit is carried out may
act as a deterrent, but the auditor is not and cannot be held responsible for the prevention of fraud
and error.
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Characteristics of Fraud
The following are some of the ways in which fraud can be perpetrated within an entity:
Fraudulent financial reporting involving intentional misstatements including omissions of amounts
or disclosures in financial statements to deceive financial statement users. Fraudulent financial
reporting may be accomplished by:
Manipulation, falsification (including forgery), or alteration of accounting records or supporting
documents from which the financial statements are prepared.
Misrepresentation in, or intentional omission from, the financial statements of events,
transactions or other significant information.
Intentional misapplication of accounting principles relating to amounts, classification, manner of
presentation, or disclosure.
Management override of controls that otherwise may appear to be operating effectively using such
techniques as:
Recording fictitious journal entries, particularly close to the end of an accounting period, to
manipulate operating results or achieve other objectives.
In appropriately adjusting assumptions and changing judgements used to estimate account
balances.
Omitting, advancing or delaying recognition in the financial statements of events and
transactions that have occurred during the reporting period.
Concealing, or not disclosing, facts that could affect the amounts recorded in the financial
statements.
Engaging in complex transactions that are structures to misrepresent the financial position or
financial performance of the entity.
Altering records and terms related to significant and unusual transactions.
Managing earnings in order to deceive financial statement users by influencing their perception as
to the entitys performance and profitability. Such situations could occur where the management
wants to maximise performance based compensation, inflating earnings to secure a bank loan or
to minimise the tax liabilities.
Misappropriation of assets involving the theft of an entitys assets. Misappropriation of assets can
be accomplished in a variety of ways including embezzling receipts, stealing physical or intangible
assets, or causing an entity to pay for goods and services not received. It is often accompanied by
false or misleading records or documents in order to conceal the fact that the assets are missing.
Incentives or pressures from sources from within or outside to commit a fraud. A perceived
opportunity for fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of asset may exist when an
individual believes that internal controls may be overridden. Even honest individuals can commit
fraud in an environment that imposes sufficient pressures on them.
Fraud is usually concealed making it difficult to detect. Nevertheless, by obtaining an understanding of
the entity and its environment, including internal controls, the engagement team may identify events
8. Auditors Responsibility to Considering Fraud
Version 1 - 9th October 2006
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Professional Scepticism
The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with those charged with the
governance of the entity and with the management.
Governance: It is the responsibility of those charged with governance of an entity to ensure,
through oversight of management, that the entity establishes and maintains internal control to
provide reasonable assurance with regard to reliability of financial reporting, effectiveness and
efficiency of operations and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Management: It is the responsibility of management to place a strong control on fraud prevention,
which may reduce opportunities from fraud to take place, and fraud deterrence, which could
persuade individuals to persuade individuals not to commit fraud because of the likelihood of
detection or punishment. This involves creating a culture of honesty and ethical behaviour. It is
also the responsibility of the management to establish a control environment and maintain policies
and procedures to assist in achieving the objective of ensuring, as far as possible, the orderly and
efficient conduct of the entitys business.
Professional scepticism is an attitude of that includes a questioning mind and a critical assessment
of audit evidence. Professional scepticism requires an ongoing questioning of whether the information
and audit evidence obtained suggests that a material misstatement due to fraud may exist.
The engagement team is required to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements taken
as a whole are free from material misstatement whether caused by fraud or error. When obtaining
reasonable assurance, the team maintains an attitude of professional scepticism throughout the
audit, considers the potential for management override of controls and recognises the fact that the
audit procedures that are effective for detecting errors may not be appropriate in the context of an
identified risk of material misstatement due to fraud. The engagement team should maintain
professional scepticism throughout the audit, recognising the possibility that a material misstatement
due to fraud may exist, notwithstanding the firms past experience with the entity about the honesty
and integrity of the management and those charged with governance.
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Practices followed by management to manage earnings that could lead to fraudulent financial
reporting.
External and internal factors that may create an incentive or pressure for management and
others to commit fraud.
Managements involvement in overseeing employees with access to cash and assets
susceptible to misappropriation.
Unusual or unexplained changes in behaviour or lifestyle of management or employees.
An emphasis on maintaining a proper state of mind throughout the audit regarding the potential
material misstatement due to fraud and consideration of types of circumstances that, if
encountered, might indicate the possibility of fraud.
Consideration of the risk of management override of controls.
Considerations of the audit procedures to be adopted in response to the susceptibility of the
entitys financial statements to material misstatements due to fraud and how an element of
unpredictability will be incorporated into the nature, timing and extent of the audit procedures to
be performed.
To determine how any allegations of fraud that come to the attention of the engagement team
will be dealt with.
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Reporting
Where the engagement team confirms that, is unable to conclude whether, the financial statements
are materially misstated as a result of fraud, the engagement partner should consider the implications
on the audit report. (See Section 26.2 and 26.3)
Communicating with Management and Those Charged with Governance
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Management Estimates
Using an expert to develop an independent estimate for comparison to managements estimate.
Extending inquiries to individuals outside of management and the accounting department to
corroborate managements ability and intent to carry out plans that are relevant to developing
the estimate.
Specific Responses - Misstatements Due to Misappropriation of Assets
Counting cash or inventories at or near year-end.
Confirming directly with customers the account activity (including credit memo and sales return
activity as well as dates payments were made) for the period under audit.
Analyzing recoveries of written-off accounts.
Analysing inventory shortages by location or product type.
Comparing key inventory ratios to the industry norm.
Reviewing supporting documentation for reductions to the perpetual inventory records.
Performing a computerized match of the vendor list with a list of employees to identify matches
of addresses or phone numbers.
Performing a computerized search of payroll records to identify duplicate addresses, employee
identification or taxing authority numbers or bank accounts.
Reviewing personnel files for those that contain little or no evidence of activity, for example, lack
of performance evaluations.
Analysing sales discounts and returns for unusual patterns or trends.
Confirming specific terms of contracts with third parties.
Obtaining evidence that contracts are being carried out in accordance with their terms.
Reviewing the propriety of large and unusual expenses.
Reviewing the authorisation and carrying value of senior management and related party loans.
Reviewing the level and propriety of expense reports submitted by senior management.
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Unwillingness to facilitate auditor access to key electronic files for testing through the use of
CAATs.
Denial of access to key IT operations staff and facilities, including security, operations, and
systems development personnel.
Unwillingness to add or revise disclosures in the financial statements to make them more
complete and understandable.
Unwillingness to address identified weaknesses in internal control on a timely basis.
Unwillingness of management to permit the auditor to meet privately with those charged with
governance.
Others:
Accounting policies that are not in line with industry norms.
Frequent changes in accounting estimates that do not appear to result from changes in
circumstances.
Tolerance of violations of the entitys code of conduct.
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