Professional Skepticism: The Effects of a Partner's Influence and the Level of Fraud Indicators on Auditors' Fraud Judgments and Actions

ABSTRACT

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), in its recent auditor inspections, cited a lack of professional skepticism and selection of appropriate audit procedures as serious problems for auditors, and suggested that the tone set by audit partners is critical for auditors' fraud investigations. This study provides evidence that a partner's emphasis on professional skepticism is ...more