D ISCLOSURE F RAUDS
As a continuation of Appendix A from Chapter 12, this appendix lists the common audit procedures that cor- respond to many of the financial statement frauds dis- cussed in this chapter. Specifically, it will address liability, asset, and inadequate disclosure frauds and show how these procedures may help detect the various schemes.
Liability-Related Fraud Schemes
Table 13A.1 lists several common audit procedures and shows the liability-related fraud schemes and transactions that each procedure may help detect. The primary concern is that liabilities are understated.
Finding unrecorded liabilities is often difficult, but can be done by performing the proper audit procedures.
As displayed in Table 13A.1, some audit proce- dures can be used for detecting multiple fraud schemes or transactions. It is important to note that although analytical procedures may indicate fraud is occurring, they are not conclusive of fraud. Because each audit procedure is limited in its ability to confirm or disconfirm a particular fraud, a combination of audit procedures will increase the probability of discovering fraudulent behavior.
Auditors are required to use professional skepticism while conducting an audit and should also employ strategic reasoning. Strategic reasoning is especially important given that smart fraud perpetrators know the common audit procedures and can design their scheme to be concealed from these procedures.
Strategic Reasoning Relating to Liability-Related Fraud
As mentioned previously, strategic reasoning is important for discovering financial statement fraud.
While an auditor hopes that performing typical audit procedures will assist in the discovery of financial statement fraud, he or she should be aware that fraud perpetrators may be consciously attempting to prevent the auditor from discovering their fraud. Because management may apply strategic reasoning in their attempts to conceal their fraud schemes, they have probably anticipated the standard audit procedures— especially if the auditor has historically performed these procedures.
Applying strategic reasoning to standard audit procedures can be as simple as making slight modifica- tions to the procedures. For example, to look for unrecorded liabilities, an auditor may send out a positive confirmation to all vendors a company has dealt with in the past, whether they have a current payable balance owed to that vendor or not. An auditor who suspects that the client may not be recording all liabilities could apply strategic reasoning to try to detect management’s efforts to conceal this scheme. Management, knowing that confirmations are standard in an audit, may not give the auditor a complete list of vendors it has dealt with in the past (especially those recorded as a zero liability balance when in fact they do owe money). The auditor should realize that obtaining an incomplete list from management is a possibility and should compare the current list with lists in prior years or with vendor invoices, purchasing department records, or other purchasing documents. By searching for other sources of vendor listings such as invoice sheets or prior years’ lists, a fraud such as this may more easily be detected.
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Asset-Related Fraud Schemes
Similar to liability-related fraud, audit procedures can be used to detect asset-related fraud. The primary concern is that assets are overstated. Table 13A.2 is similar to Table 13A.1 and lists common audit procedures related to assets and indicates which procedures help in detecting the asset-related fraud schemes or transactions.
While no one procedure will detect all potential fraud schemes, by combining these procedures, an auditor has a greater chance of detecting a fraud that is being perpetrated. Because management is likely to know the procedures that the auditor will perform, auditors should apply strategic reasoning in an attempt to discover concealed fraud schemes involving assets.
Strategic Reasoning Relating to Asset-Related Fraud
As with liability-related fraud, asset-related financial statement fraud is likely to be concealed by manage- ment. Because management is aware that auditors perform specific audit procedures, they will likely attempt to conceal the fraud from standard audit procedures. For example, if management is attempt- ing to overstate fixed assets and knows that the auditor will be physically inspecting these assets, they may try to borrow or rent equipment or property that is not theirs to be included in the fixed assets counts.
An auditor applying strategic reasoning would realize this possibility and not only count the fixed asset, but also examine public records databases that specify ownership of the assets.
Inadequate Disclosure Frauds
When companies issue fraudulent or misleading state- ments or press releases knowingly, they are trying to deceive the public and are committing disclosure fraud.
Table 13A.3 is an example of audit procedures that will help identify various disclosure-fraud schemes.
As you can see, inadequate disclosure is often identified by observing or questioning management or reviewing announcements and press releases in comparison with financial statements. Again, auditors must apply strategic reasoning to better identify potential disclosure fraud.
Strategic Reasoning Relating to Disclosure Fraud
Typically, an auditor will review minutes from the board of directors’ meetings. Management, attempt- ing to conceal a fraud it hopes to avoid, may exclude discussions about the company’s business operations from the minutes. An auditor applying strategic reasoning would be aware of this possibility and inquire of lower-level employees about the company’s claims regarding its business operations.
Detecting inadequate disclosure fraud is not as easy as detecting other types of fraud. In fact, it is often difficult to detect inadequate disclosure fraud without a tip or complaint. Thus, auditors need to be observant and maintain a high level of professional skepticism when reviewing press releases and important announce- ments, when conversing with management, and when considering the current state of the company.
Although these are only a few examples of how strategic reasoning could be used during an audit to detect financial statement fraud, they illustrate why and how auditors should consider management’s efforts to conceal fraud schemes from standard procedures.
TABLE
13A.1 Common Audit Procedures for Liability-Related Fraud Schemes
Liability-Related Fraud
Common Fraud Schemes
Common Audit Procedure
Record Pay- ables in Subsequent
Period
Don’t Record Purchases
Overstate Purchase Returns and
Purchase Discounts
Record Pay- ments Made in Later Periods as Being Paid in Earlier
Periods
Fraudulent Recording of
Payments
Not Record Liabilities
Record Accruals in
Later Period
Record Unearned
Revenues as Earned Revenues (or vice
versa) 1. Obtain a stan-
dard bank confir- mation that requests specific information on notes from banks.
x x x
2. Review interest expense for pay- ments to debt- holders not listed on the debt anal- ysis schedule.
x x
3. R e v i e w n o t e s paid or renewed after the balance sheet date to de- termine if unre- corded liabilities exist at year-end.
x x x x x
4. Recompute ac- crued interest payable.
x x x x
5. Compare current year’s interest expense with that of prior years.
x x x
6. Compare dates on vouchers with the dates transactions were recorded in the purchases journal.
x x x
7. Review debt for related-party transactions or borrowings from major share- holders.
TABLE
13A.1 Common Audit Procedures for Liability-Related Fraud Schemes
Common Fraud Schemes
Not Record Warranty
(Service) Liabilities
Record Deposits as
Revenues
Not Record Repurchase Agreements
and Commitments
Borrow from Related Parties at Less Than Arm’s- Length Transac-
tions
Borrow Against Equities in
Assets
Write off Liabilities as
Forgiven
Claim Liabilities as
Personal Debt Rather
Than as Debt of the
Entity
Don’t Record Contingent
Liabilities That Are Probable
Record Contingent Liabilities at
Amounts Too Low
x x x
x x x
x x
x x
x x
x x x x
8. Trace a sample of vouchers to the purchases jour- nal.
x x x
9. Review debt ac- tivity for a few days before and after year-end to determine if the transactions are included in the proper period.
x x x x
10. Examine board of directors’min- utes, company files, service agreements, and correspondence with others.
x x x x x x x x
TABLE
13A.1 (Continued)
Liability-Related Fraud
Common Fraud Schemes
Common Audit Procedure
Record Pay- ables in Subsequent
Period
Don’t Record Purchases
Overstate Purchase Returns and
Purchase Discounts
Record Pay- ments Made in Later Periods as Being Paid
in Earlier Periods
Fraudulent Recording of
Payments
Not Record Liabilities
Record Accruals in
Later Period
Record Unearned
Revenues as Earned Revenues (or vice
versa)
x x TABLE
13A.1 Common Audit Procedures for Liability-Related Fraud Schemes
Common Fraud Schemes
Not Record Warranty
(Service) Liabilities
Record Deposits as
Revenues
Not Record Repurchase Agreements
and Commitments
Borrow from Related Parties at Less Than Arm’s- Length Transac-
tions
Borrow Against Equities in
Assets
Write off Liabilities as
Forgiven
Claim Liabilities as
Personal Debt Rather
Than as Debt of the
Entity
Don’t Record Contingent
Liabilities That Are Probable
Record Contingent Liabilities at
Amounts Too Low
TABLE
13A.2 Common Audit Procedures for Asset-Related Fraud Schemes
Asset-Related Fraud Common Fraud Schemes
Common Audit Procedure
Inappro- priately Capita- lizing as Assets Various Kinds of Costs
Using Market Values Rather Than Book Values to
Record Assets
Having the Wrong Entity Be
the
“Purchaser”
Allocat- ing Costs
Among Assets in Inappro- priate Ways
Recording Fictitious Assets or
Inflating the Value of Assets in Inter- company Accounts
or Transac-
tions
Sham Purchases
and Sales of Assets with
“Straw Buyers”
Over- stating Asset Costs with Related
Parties
Not Recording
Depreci- ation
Collusion with Outside
Parties to Overstate
Assets (e.g., allocating inventory costs to
fixed assets)
Misstating Marketable Securities with the
Aid of Related
Parties
Misappro- priation of
Cash Resulting in
Misstated Financial Statements
Without Manage- ment’s Knowledge
Covering Thefts of Cash or
Other Assets by Overstating Receivables or Inventory
1. Verify the existence of major additions by physically examining the capital asset.
x x x x
2. Examine or confirm deeds or title docu- ments for proof of ownership.
x x x
3. Review lease agree- ments to ensure that lease transactions are accounted for prop- erly.
x
4. Vouch transactions in- cluded in repairs and maintenance for items that should be capita- lized.
x x x
5. Compare asset depre- ciation life to that of other comparable assets in comparable companies.
x x
Part5|ManagementFraud