What is meant by professional skepticism in an audit of financial statements?

Professional scepticism is an attitude that includes a questioning mind, being alert to conditions which may indicate possible misstatement due to error or fraud, and a critical assessment of audit evidence. All in our profession will be aware of debate about whether auditors have been sufficiently sceptical in recent times. Concerns of some audit regulators and others have been highlighted in the media and are part of the future of audit debate. The purpose of these videos is to highlight some of the concerns of the regulator and to be constructive about how audit firms respond to these issues. This is of particular relevance to auditors as they plan their audits in2012.