THE AUDITOR'S PERCEPTION OF EFFECTIVE RED FLAG FRAUD DETECTION ATTRIBUTES DURING THE EARLY, MIDDLE, AND LATE YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This study investigates attributes that influence the effectiveness of red flags used by internal and external auditors to detect financial statement fraud during three different 15-year stages of auditor professional development. These findings categorized auditor professional development into three distinct stages (early, middle, and late). In the early stage, such attributes as those holding certified public accountant (CPA) and certified internal auditor (CIA) certifications, and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees influence red flag fraud-detecting effectiveness by auditors. In the middle stage, attributes such as MBA and Master of Accounting (МАСС) degrees, prior red flag usage, conferences, in-house training, and prior fraud detection influence auditors' fraud-detecting effectiveness. In the last stage, gender, CPA and CIA certifications, and income influence auditor frauddetecting effectiveness.