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Negligence is an absence of reasonable care that can be expected of a person in a set of circumstances. For auditors, it is in terms of what other competent auditors would have done in the same situation. This essay looks on what an audit firm should do to minimize the risk of professional negligence claims. A typical lawsuit involves a claim that the auditor did not discover an employee defalcation as a result of negligence in the conduct of the audit. There are many actions that auditors can take to minimize their liability against the risk of professional negligence claims. 1. Maintain independence Statement 1.203 states that professional independence is a concept fundamental to the accountancy profession and auditor must be both independence in fact and in appearance. Independence in auditing means taking an unbiased viewpoint in the performance of audit tests, the evaluation of the result and the issuance of the audit report. If the auditor is an advocate for the client, a banker or anyone else, then he or she can not be considered independent. It is therefore, independence must certainly be regarded as the auditor’s most critical characteristic. It is not only essential for auditors to maintain an indepe