Abstract
This study explores how audit firms in Jordan deal with the presence of fraud risk factors in audit
clients. In doing so, the study seeks to explore which fraud risk factors are more important to Jordanian
auditors, and how Jordanian auditors consider modifying their audit programmes when fraud risk
factors are present in clients. The study uses a structured questionnaire that was administered to senior
level auditors in the largest Jordanian audit firms. The findings show that almost all of the 20 fraud risk
factors included in the questionnaire were only slightly important (if not unimportant), a finding that is
arguably alarming. The perceived importance of modifying the audit programme in the presence of
each fraud risk factor was related to the perceived importance of the fraud risk factor itself. However,
changes in the nature and extent of audit procedures were more important than changes in the timing of
the procedures or the members of the audit team. The most important fraud risk factors were related to
the characteristics of management and its attitude towards the audit, while the least important fraud risk
factors were related to the difficulties in the client’s financial performance. Factor analysis found that
the fraud risk factors could be classified into four separate groups. Possible interpretations of the
findings were discussed, such as considering the Jordanian business environment characteristics, and
the findings were compared to those of extant international studies.