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Article Title:
The Changing Responsibilities of Auditors in Detection and Prevention of Business Frauds within a Challenging Environment in Nigeria
by Ayoola-Akinjobi, Olayemi Omowumi

Abstract:
The cost of fraud to business is enormous; everyone is victimized by high product cost and lower corporate profits. When fraud is detected within a business, there is usually shock and disbelief that a trusted employee who resembles the "person next door" could have done what they are accused of. Why didn't the auditor foresee the problem? This is the question frequently asked during this period. A logical response is that the people involved in perpetrating the fraud were clever enough to conceal the fraud. In reality, however, the blame has been increasingly placed on the auditors, which often show a lack of understanding as to what the role of the auditors should be, but has the auditors roles changed? In the light of cost of frauds to the business and the offender, it is important to develop strategies to prevent and detect business fraud, taking a cursory look at the risk factors associated with business and given due attention to the motives attached with it, and how to effectively manage it on daily basis. Having focus on public expectation and the new expectations for the auditors, this paper will examine the responsibility of external auditors and the management.

Keywords: auditor, fraud, risk, prevention, management, motives

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