Fraud detection is among the highest priorities for the accounting profession and standard setters Elliott 2002; PCAOB 2003, 2007, 2008. Statement on Auditing Standards SAS No. 99 AICPA 2002, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, requires brainstorming sessions on every audit as a means of improving auditors’ fraud judgments. However, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board PCAOB has expressed concerns about the actual conduct and quality of brainstorming sessions in practice PCAOB 2007.Because these sessions are a relatively new requirement, little is known about how they occur in practice and how they influence fraud-related judgments. Accordingly, our study employs a field survey of actual audit engagements to pursue three research objectives. First, we study how audit teams are conducting brainstorming sessions in practice and develop a measure of brainstorming quality.