Auditor liability has never been a crystal-clear issue to the public. regulatos or even auditors themselves. Few people in the general public know that financial statement audits are aimed at providing reasonable assurance as to whether a material misstatement in the financial statement exists and whether financial transactions are recorded and financial statements are presented in conformity That language is nearly synonymous with the financial audit opinions" issued for financial statement audits mandated by GAAS as promulgated by the AICPA. In addition, GAAS states that the "The auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material mis- statement, whether caused by error or fraud. is view is complicated by the fact that over 90 percent of frauds are immaterial, the fact that material financial statement frauds are being perpetrated by an executive who is being clandestine in his efforts, and that financial audit procedures are designed to detect material misstatements in the financials not fraud.