Wirecard Business Model

The basis of every audit is knowledge of the business model and an examination of its impact on the audit planning considering its inherent and control risks as well as its fraud risks. The description of the business model in the annual reports from 2015 to 2018 was imprecise and vague. In particular, the part of the business activities that allegedly produced profits was almost not described at all. We explain Wirecard’s business model in detail, with particular attention to its business in Asia. In the case of Wirecard, the auditor cannot be criticized for not having examined the business model carefully enough. Certain accounting consequences were discussed with him in detail and possibly even proposed by the auditor. We therefore devote a detailed discussion to the presentation of the business model against the background of the accounting effects. Given that the auditor knew Wirecard’s business model very well, it becomes even less clear that the audit procedures were not geared towards this during the numerous years of auditing.