This study explores two potential safeguards against liability when auditors exercise professional skepticism, but do not detect a fraud: (1) a firm policy requiring a specific level of professional skepticism in high-risk audit areas and (2) providing jurors with key differences between the...

Using an experiment with corporate financial managers (e.g., CFOs, controllers), we find that when red flags are present in the financial statements under their review, managers identify those red flags and, in turn, have greater concerns over earnings quality. In addition, when pressure to meet...

Despite the importance placed on professional skepticism by the accounting profession and regulators, the failure of auditors to exercise an appropriate level of skepticism continues to be a global issue. We experimentally test a potential barrier to skepticism. We find that outcome knowledge...

Providing auditors with credible incentives to exercise professional skepticism is a longstanding problem. We focus on costly skepticism: the common situation in which skepticism is ex ante appropriate based on available evidence, but generates incremental ex post costs and does not identify a...

Using an experiment with corporate financial managers (e.g., CFOs, controllers), we find that when red flags are present in the financial statements under their review, managers identify those red flags and, in turn, have greater concerns over earnings quality. In addition, when pressure to meet...

Despite the importance placed on professional skepticism by the accounting profession and regulators, the failure of auditors to exercise an appropriate level of skepticism continues to be a global issue. We experimentally test a potential barrier to skepticism. We find that outcome knowledge...

We explore how audit committees (ACs) support audit engagement teams and whether AC support can improve auditors’ professional skepticism. We first survey audit practitioners and find that AC support is multidimensional, varies between engagements, and often is not communicated to the entire...

The financial statement auditor’s identification of fraud risk factors, their assessment of fraud risk, and their fraud risk responses are key to the auditor’s consideration of fraud and fraud detection. Given that the last review of research related to the fraud audit process occurred...