One of the assumptions that underlie traditional auditing methods is the presence
of an intelligent human being. When an auditor checks items in a sample, he or she is
able to apply human reason and common sense to transactions. Fraud investigations
often start with the auditor conducting a routine audit task, looking at a transaction, and
saying, “that doesn’t make sense.” This approach can be seen as an inductive approach;
the auditor investigates further when anomalies are found