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This study’s objective is twofold. First, we investigate the extent to which French auditors have been exposed to fraud cases. Second, we assess if and how these fraud cases were discovered by auditors. External auditors from the cities of Agen, Bordeaux, Pau and Toulouse were surveyed through a written questionnaire. The final sample include 80 auditors, approximately 10 % of the surveyed population. Results suggest that audit firm’s attributes are linked with exposure to fraud cases as well as to their discovery. In addition, auditors who explicitly consider fraud risk in planning their audit engagement are more likely to discover fraud cases. Such a strategy is consistent with new American audit standards.