Certified Information Systems Auditor Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your CISA Certification!

Discovery sampling primarily focuses on determining whether a specific type of event has occurred. This method is particularly useful in fraud detection, as it allows auditors to identify instances of fraud or anomalies in a population by examining a sample. The emphasis is on uncovering whether at least one occurrence of fraud exists in the selected sample, rather than estimating the prevalence or percentage of fraud in the entire population.

In the context of risk assessment for fraud, the ability to identify if fraud has occurred is critical since it can lead to further investigation and the implementation of necessary controls. Discovery sampling aids auditors in understanding whether fraud risks are present and whether they need to take additional steps to address those risks. The focus here aids in forming a conclusion about the existence of fraudulent activity without the need to quantify the total number of instances, which is reserved for different sampling methods.

Other answer choices reflect different focuses. Identifying a systematic error pertains to quality control measures more than fraud detection, estimating total instances of errors aligns more with substantive testing procedures, and evaluating overall control effectiveness concentrates on the efficiency of the controls rather than identifying occurrences of fraud.