استخدام إشارات خطر التدقيق في تحسين فعالية التدقيق الخارجي لاكتشاف الاحتيال المالي : دراسة تطبيقية على مكاتب التدقيق في قطاع غزة

Abstract EN

This study aims to highlight the effect of using Red Flag Indicators in improving the effectiveness of external audit in detecting financial fraud, by using Red Flags when performing audit activities relating to employees, management, financial reports and assets.

In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the analytical descriptive method has been used.

Therefore, a special questionnaire was designed and distributed to the research community that comprised 64 external auditors.

All respients responded, and results were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) and other suitable statistical tests.

This study produced a number of important results which included: Red Flags themselves do not confirm the existence of fraud.

They rather provide warning signs of fraud possibilities which, in turn, warrant additional care, examination and further analysis.

The results have shown that the use of Red Flag Indicators has enhanced the quality and the effectiveness of external auditing in revealing financial fraud.

Auditing firms have confirmed the effectiveness of Red Flags in detecting financial fraud and improving external audit practices in order to avoid the risks associated with fraudulent activities.

The study has come up with a number of important recommendations which included the need to reconsider the effectiveness of the firms’ organization charts, the the methods followed in taking decisions, in addition to giving more importance for employee satisfaction.

It also included the need to introduce new rules and regulations to detect and prevent manipulating the financial statements, enhancing the financial controls and the internal audit function in the Palestinian compaies in order to enable a better performance and an ability to discover fraud in the finanancial reports.

The study also recommended the need to use modern IT faciltieis by the auditors that would help in detecting fraud and manipulation in the financial statements and confirmed the need to use the Red Flag Indicatiors in order to unveil such manipulations.