EN
This article discusses the case studies of audit failures – the real cases were those where the external audit was involved in falsifying financial statements. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the reasons for the low quality of audit, i.e. identifying the factors that significantly lower audit effectiveness. The analyzed cases, widely dis-cussed in the international mass media especially at the beginning of the present century – were selected from the economic practices of the United States. The study of the selected cases was conducted on the basis of the original documents (e.g. reports issued by relevant institutions, judicial decisions, statements of the relevant authorities), as well as secondary studies (e.g. scientific papers, press articles, books).