Red flags in financial reporting - empirical studies in the AeRO market

Abstract Understanding the factors that cause fraud and properly defining key areas of conduct is one of the most effective ways to detect potential irregularities, where the auditor’s professional judgment and skepticism are essential. In this respect, it is necessary to study some key financial indicators, but also to use various procedures to identify and detect fraud and possible manipulation in the financial reporting process. The objectives are aimed at identifying and highlighting possible red flags in companies whose shares are traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The sample considered sensitive to fraudulent financial reporting is composed of four distinct categories of companies, namely: companies recently admitted to trading on the AeRO market administered by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (21), companies that obtained a zero Vektor score in 2020 (9), companies that obtained a low score in the White Letter publication (5), and companies in insolvency (4).