Auditing & Assurance Services (Auditing and Assurance Services)
Auditing & Assurance Services (Auditing and Assurance Services)
7th Edition
ISBN: 9781259573286
Author: Timothy J Louwers, Allen Blay, David Sinason Associate Professor, Jerry R Strawser, Jay C. Thibodeau Associate Professor
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
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Chapter C8, Problem 1DQ
To determine

Provide an opinion on the comments by Person DN.

Expert Solution & Answer
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Explanation of Solution

Fraud: Fraud refers to the presentation of inaccurate data, which is done intentionally for personal gains. The major reason for the fraud to occur is the availability of the opportunity to carry out unethical practices or ulterior motive for the personal interest.

Statement given by Person DN:

“If our job was described as to provide a 100 per cent assurance that there have been no material mistakes and no frauds have been committed, that would require audit firms to significantly increase the amount of work we do today and have much more forensic and different types of auditing. As we all know, when there is a desire at the top of an organization to commit a massive fraud, individuals in the organization that have participated in the fraud can do a lot of different things to keep it away from individuals, including auditor firms, the Board of Directors and the analyst community.”

Opinion on the statement by Person DN:

  • The statement provided by Person DN is rather a vague statement, with not much of personal responsibility or professional ethics attached to it.
  • Part of his statement could be agreed upon “when there is a desire at the top of an organization to commit a massive fraud, individuals in the organization that have participated in the fraud can do a lot of different things to keep it away from individuals, including auditor firms” and could be considered as a true scenario. However this is the place where the professional ethics plays the vital role.
  • The major purpose of the auditor and not any individual to audit the financial statements is to ensure the authenticity of the report.
  • It becomes an inevitable job, on the part of the auditor to ensure the correctness of the statements being provided to them and to cross check the validity of the data.
  • Hence, the statement provided by Person DN, is considered as an unethical statement and as a highly unprofessional justification for the mistake committed.

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