Changes in the audit industry after Sarbanes-Oxley have potentially changed the nature and extent of audit sampling in the largest accounting firms. However, little academic evidence exists on current audit sampling policies in place at the largest accounting firms (Elder et al. 2013). As such,...

This study examines the relation between auditor risk assessments and sample size decisions for a sample of 235 audit sampling applications from 64 audits of medium-sized companies performed by three large accounting firms. Auditors relied on controls and assessed inherent risk below the maximum...