Should external auditors (specifically the Big 4 that audit 90% of the public company financial statements) be more responsible for finding material fraud? Keep in mind that businesses already believe that audit fees are too high and would certainly be asked to pay higher fees for the auditing firm to deploy more audit staff and perform more audit procedures. Second, keep in mind that external auditors already work within a very rushed time period to audit the financial statements during "busy season". Should Internal Audit spend more time looking for fraud, since they are internal and are at the business year-round?

Is the occasional material fraud worth the time and effort to dig for fraud in every audit?

Do you feel that the faith in the public markets depends on investors and creditors having confidence that there is no material fraud in the companies that they invest in and loan to?

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The question of whether external auditors particularly the Big 4 accounting firms should be more responsible for finding material fraud is a complex a... View the full answer