Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Commerce - Department of Accounting

Auditing standards direct auditors to consider business risk and other risk factors when evaluating the overall risk of material misstatement during an audit. Prior research documented that auditors primarily look at financial measures when assessing the audit risk of an audit engagement. Auditors focus on financial measures may be due to auditors training and greater familiarity with financial than non-financial data and information. The present research sheds light on the important role that non-financial measures may have in helping auditors to detect fraudulent financial reporting. A field study was conducted in Egypt during 2013 and 2014 to explore how auditors perceive and assess the audit risk during an audit engagement in the period following the Egyptian revolution of the 25th of January, 2011. The results of the field study indicate that auditors appear not to give sufficient attention to non-financial measures when assessing the audit risk within an audit engagement despite the deteriorating economic conditions in Egypt after the revolution of the 25th of January, 2011. Furthermore, auditors do not seem to consider the inconsistencies between financial and non-financial data and information as an indicator of the existence of fraud or material misstatements in the financial statements of an audit client

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