WHAT IS THE AUDITING DEFINITION OF FRAUD
AND ILLEGAL ACTS?
DEFINITIONS
Fraud:
Fraud is an intentional act that
results in a misstatement in financial statements that are the subject of an audit (AU-C
240.11)
ILLEGAL ACTS:
Illegal acts, in the context of
auditing, is referred to
Noncompliance.
Noncompliance is “acts of omission or commission by the entity, either intentional or unintentional, which are contrary to the prevailing laws or regulations,” AU-C 250.11
WHO IS PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR DETECTION AND
PREVENTION?
Fraud
NONCOMPLIANCE
Governing board of the entity and management is primarily responsible for fraud prevention and detection (AU-C 240.04)
Management is primarily responsible, with the governing board entailed with oversight, of complying with current laws and regulations.
This includes laws and regulations that pertain to the reported amounts and disclosures in an entity’s financial statements (AU-C 250.03)
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES AND
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN FRAUD AND ILLEGAL
ACTS?
DIFFERENCES:
Fraud:
When an auditor conducts an
audit according to GAAS, the auditor is responsible for providing reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements, whether due to error or fraud. (AU-C 240.05)
ILLEGAL ACTS:
When an auditor conducts an
audit according to GAAS, “the auditor is not responsible for preventing noncompliance and cannot be expected to detect noncompliance with all laws and regulations” (AU-C 250.04)
SIMILARITIES:
Fraud:
ILLEGAL ACTS:
Auditor needs to exercise
Auditor needs to exercise
professional skepticism
High Risk of not detecting fraud due to inherent limitations:
professional skepticism
High Risk of not detecting noncompliance due to inherent limitations: Management fraud is much harder
for an auditor to detect that fraud committed by employees
Management override of controls or collusion
Many laws and regulations