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. We investigate selected
components of Nelson’s (2009) model of professional skepticism: the effects of the
partner’s emphasis on professional skepticism and the effect of the level of fraud
indicators on auditors’ identification of fraud risk factors, auditors’ fraud risk
assessments, and their selection of audit procedures. Thus, we provide an initial test
of predictions of the links established in his model, and our results suggest a possible
extension to his model. This study provides evidence that a partner’s emphasis on
professional skepticism is critical for both effective and efficient identification of relevant
fraud risk factors and choice of relevant audit procedures. These results should be
informative to both standard setters and academic researchers because they highlight
the costs and benefits of an audit partner’s attitude toward professional skepticism on the
evaluation of fraud.