This paper describes fraud risk factors identified by practicing
auditors relative to their own clients, and the relationship of
those factors to fraud risk assessments and audit planning
decisions. When the U.S. Auditing Standards Board (ASB)
developed SAS No. 82, a major concern was whether and how
to incorporate specific fraud risk factors into the standard. This
issue remains important, as the ASB and the International
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) continue
to examine auditor’s responsibilities for fraud detection. This
paper contributes to the literature by providing evidence on
the prevalence of certain types of fraud risk factors in audit
practice and their impact on audit planning. To address these
issues, we asked practicing Big 5 auditors to identify specific
fraud risk factors of an actual client, assess the client’s level
of fraud risk, and plan audit tests to address fraud. We find
that a high proportion of clients exhibit one or more fraud
risk factors, most frequently related to industry/competitive
position, management integrity, internal control system
quality, financial condition, and pressure to meet financial
targets. While fraud risk factors are often documented, fraud
risk assessments are not well related to the number of those
factors, overall or by individual type. All types of fraud risk
factors are statistically associated with some form of audit
testing response, but the nature of the audit test planned varies
by risk factor type. Results of the study also show that the
effect of fraud risk assessments on audit test planning varies
according to the nature of the audit test planned.