During an external audit, the audit team identifies evidence that the company’s financial statements were...

Auditors evaluate fraud-related misstatements using both quantitative and qualitative considerations. A misstatement below the numerical materiality threshold cannot automatically be dismissed when it results from intentional manipulation. Fraud involving management, concealment, override of controls, or intentional financial statement manipulation may be qualitatively material even if the dollar amount is small. Therefore, the auditors should consider who committed the manipulation and what it indicates about integrity, control environment, and possible broader misstatement risks. Asset misappropriation can be relevant to an external audit when it causes or is concealed through financial statement misstatement. The auditors do not automatically lower materiality for the entire audit merely because fraud exists, but they must respond appropriately to identified or suspected fraud. Therefore, option D is correct.