The professional practice standard relating to the consideration of the possibility of fraud when auditing accounts, approved by the Minister of Justice, is shown below:
.
NEP-240. Consideration of the possibility of fraud when auditing accounts
Introduction
01. In planning and performing the audit, the auditor identifies and assesses the risks of material misstatement of the accounts and designs audit procedures in response to that assessment. Such misstatements may result from error or fraud.
02. The purpose of this standard is to define the specific audit procedures relating to:
-identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement due to fraud in the financial statements;
-to adapting the general approach and designing audit procedures in response to this assessment.
03. This standard applies to fraud that is likely to result in a material misstatement of the financial statements, namely:
-intentional acts detrimental to the true and fair view of the accounts and likely to mislead the user of those accounts;
-misappropriation of assets.
Characteristics of fraud
04. Fraud is distinguished from error by its intentional nature.
05. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement in the accounts is higher in the case of fraud than in the case of error because fraud is generally accompanied by procedures designed to conceal the facts.
06. In accordance with the principle set out in the standard “Principles applicable to the audit of accounts implemented in the context of the certification of accounts”, the statutory auditor shall apply a critical approach and take into account, throughout his audit, the fact that a material misstatement resulting from fraud may exist.
Exchanges of information within the audit team
07. When planning the audit, the members of the audit team discuss the risks of material misstatement resulting from fraud.
These discussions enable the statutory auditor to assess the risks of material misstatement resulting from fraud.
In particular, these discussions enable the statutory auditor to assess the responses to be made to this risk.
08. The statutory auditor determines which members of the audit team take part in these exchanges and the information to be communicated to members of the team who have not taken part.
09. Exchanges may relate, in particular, to matters in the accounts that are likely to be materially misstated as a result of fraud or to factors external or internal to the entity that may create incentives, pressures or opportunities for management and others within the entity to commit fraud.
.
10. These discussions may help to allocate the various audit procedures to be performed within the audit team.
11. These discussions continue, if necessary, during the engagement.
Obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment and assessing the risks of material misstatement due to fraud
>.
12. In order to identify the risk of material misstatement due to fraud, the statutory auditor, when obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment, performs audit procedures, which consist of:
-enquiring about the risk of fraud;
-obtaining an understanding of the way in which the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the French Commercial Code exercise their oversight in terms of fraud risk;
-analyse fraud risk factors;
In addition, it takes into account the results of analytical procedures and information obtained during other audit procedures carried out as part of its assignment.
13. Because management is responsible for the internal control implemented in the entity and for the preparation of the accounts, the statutory auditor shall enquire of it:
-the entity’s assessment of the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements as a result of fraud;
-the procedures it has put in place to identify and respond to risks of fraud in the entity, including any specific risks it has identified, or the categories of transactions, account balances or disclosures in respect of which a risk of fraud may exist;
where applicable, the information it has provided to the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the French Commercial Code on the procedures put in place to identify and respond to fraud risks within the entity;
> – where applicable, the information it has provided to the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the French Commercial Code on the procedures put in place to identify and respond to fraud risks within the entity;
-where applicable, the information that it has communicated to employees on its vision of the conduct of business and on the entity’s ethical policy;
-any knowledge it may have of actual, suspected or merely alleged fraud involving the entity.
14. The statutory auditor shall also enquire of the persons in charge of internal audit and of any other person whom he considers it useful to interview in the entity as to their possible knowledge of actual, suspected or merely alleged fraud concerning the entity.
It shall also discuss these matters with the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code, in particular in order to corroborate the answers given by the entity’s management.
15. The importance attached by the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code to fraud prevention has an impact on the risk of fraud. The statutory auditor shall obtain an understanding of the manner in which these bodies exercise their oversight of the procedures implemented by management to identify and respond to fraud risks in the entity.
16. The statutory auditor assesses whether the information obtained during these interviews indicates the presence of one or more fraud risk factors. He may note facts or identify situations that indicate the existence of incentives or pressure to commit fraud or that offer the opportunity to do so.
17. Where the auditor performs analytical procedures to obtain an understanding of the entity, the auditor shall assess whether there are unusual or unexpected relationships that indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
.
18. In addition, the statutory auditor assesses whether information obtained in the course of other audit procedures indicates risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
.
19. Where the statutory auditor has identified, in the course of obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment, risks of material misstatement due to fraud, the statutory auditor shall, in all cases, evaluate the design and operation of the entity’s controls relevant to those risks.
There is a presumption of risk of material misstatement due to fraud.
There is a presumption of risk of material misstatement due to fraud in revenue recognition. Consequently, when the statutory auditor considers that this risk does not exist, he justifies this in his file.
Responses to the assessment of the risk of material misstatement due to fraud
20. In response to its assessment of the risk of material misstatement due to fraud, at the level of the accounts taken as a whole, the statutory auditor adapts its overall approach to the engagement. In doing so, he:
-reviews the assignment of audit team members and the degree of supervision of their work;
-analyses the entity’s accounting choices, in particular those involving estimates that are based on complex assumptions or transactions, and their implementation. It assesses whether these choices are likely to affect the true and fair view of the financial statements;
-introduces an element of uncertainty into the financial statements.
-introduces an element of unpredictability for the entity in the choice of the nature, timing and extent of audit procedures.
21. In response to the auditor’s assessment of the risks of material misstatement due to fraud at the assertion level, the auditor designs and performs audit procedures in addition to those performed for that assessment. The auditor determines the nature, timing and extent of these procedures based on the risk they address. For example, he may decide to make greater use of physical observation of certain assets, to use computer-assisted control techniques or to implement more detailed analytical procedures.
22. In addition to the responses to the assessment of the risk of material misstatement due to fraud, at the level of the accounts taken as a whole and at the level of assertions, and in order to respond to the risk of management overriding certain controls put in place by the entity, the statutory auditor designs and performs audit procedures, which consist of:
-verifying the appropriateness of accounting entries and inventory entries made during the preparation of the financial statements;
-Review whether the accounting estimates are not biased. To this end, the statutory auditor may, in particular, review the management judgements and assumptions reflected in the accounting estimates of previous years in the light of subsequent achievements;
-understand the economic rationale for any accounting estimates made in prior years.
-understand the economic rationale for significant transactions that appear to it to be outside the ordinary activities of the entity, or that appear unusual in light of its knowledge of the entity and its environment.
Reassessment of the risk of material misstatement due to fraud
23. Based on the information gathered, the statutory auditor assesses, throughout the engagement, whether his assessment of the risk of material misstatement due to fraud at the assertion level remains appropriate.
24. When a material misstatement is identified, the statutory auditor shall assess whether it may be indicative of fraud.
.
25. When, at the end of the audit, it performs analytical procedures enabling it to assess the overall consistency of the accounts, it assesses whether the unusual or unexpected correlations indicate the existence of a previously unidentified risk of material misstatement due to fraud.
.
26. In such situations, the statutory auditor may need to reconsider the nature, timing or extent of planned audit procedures and reconsider information obtained from management.
Management representations
27. The statutory auditor shall request written declarations from management in which:
-it declares that controls intended to prevent and detect fraud have been designed and implemented in the entity;
-it confirms that it has provided it with its assessment of the risk that the financial statements may contain material misstatements resulting from fraud;
-he declares that he has reported to him all allegations of fraud having an impact on the entity’s accounts and brought to his attention by employees, former employees, analysts, regulators or others.
Communication
28. When the statutory auditor has identified fraud that has led to material misstatements in the accounts or has obtained information about the possibility of such fraud, he shall inform management as soon as possible. The auditor shall also report to management, at the appropriate level of responsibility, any fraud identified in the course of the audit that has not resulted in a material misstatement of the accounts.
29. The statutory auditor shall apply the provisions of the professional practice standard relating to communications with the bodies mentioned in Article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code. In this respect, he shall communicate:
-fraud that has led to material misstatement of the accounts or information that it has obtained about the possibility of such fraud;
-fraud involving management or employees with a key role in the internal control system.
In addition, when the statutory auditor works with a public interest entity and in the event of suspicions or good reason to suspect that fraud concerning the annual or consolidated accounts, may be committed or has been committed, he shall inform management or, where informing management appears undesirable or has remained without relevant follow-up, the bodies mentioned in Article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code. It asks them to investigate the elements identified and to take appropriate measures to deal with these irregularities and prevent their recurrence.
Where such investigations are not carried out, the statutory auditor shall inform the authorities responsible for investigating such irregularities.
30. The statutory auditor shall assess whether there are other points relating to fraud to be discussed with the bodies referred to in article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code.
For example, they may ask about the nature, extent and frequency of management’s assessment of the controls put in place to prevent and detect fraud, or about the authorisation process for transactions that are not part of the entity’s normal business activities.
Disclosure of offences
.
31. When the statutory auditor concludes that the accounts contain material misstatements resulting from fraud likely to be classified as criminal, he shall disclose the facts to the public prosecutor.
Questioning the continuation of the engagement
32. When the statutory auditor is considering resigning because of the existence of material misstatements resulting from actual or suspected fraud that call into question the continuation of the engagement, he shall comply with the rules laid down by the profession’s code of ethics and shall in particular ensure that his resignation has a legitimate reason.
33. If the statutory auditor decides to resign:
-he shall discuss the matter with the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code, and explain the reasons therefor;
-he meets the obligations laid down by the profession’s code of ethics in terms of the succession of assignments.
Documentation of work
34. The statutory auditor shall record in his work file:
-material decisions made during discussions between members of the audit team about the risks of material misstatement due to fraud in the accounts;
-the risks of material misstatement due to fraud identified at the level of the accounts taken as a whole and at the level of assertions;
the adaptation of its overall approach in response to the risks of material misstatement due to fraud at the level of the accounts taken as a whole and the nature, timing and extent of audit procedures designed and performed in response to its risk assessment and the relationship of those procedures to the assessed risks at the level of the assertions;
-the conclusions of the audit procedures performed in response to the risks of material misstatement due to fraud at the level of the accounts taken as a whole and the relationship of those procedures to the assessed risks at the level of the assertions; and
-the conclusions of the audit procedures, and in particular those designed to address the risk of management override of controls;
where appropriate, the reasons for its assessment that there is no risk of fraud in the recognition of revenue;
-the communications it has made to the Board of Directors on the audit procedures it has performed
-the communications it has made regarding fraud to management and to the bodies referred to in Article L. 823-16 of the Commercial Code;
-where applicable, the disclosure of criminal acts to the public prosecutor;