One of the basic tasks of the financial audit is to create an opinion on whether the data presented in the financial statements are in accordance with the actual situation in the company. At the same time, it is necessary to determine whether the financial statements have been compiled in compliance with current legal regulations in order to prevent any form of intentional or accidental incorrect accounting recording of business changes. The audit of financial statements is extremely important, since it is one of the foundations for creating the trust of the company's stakeholders in the company's operations. In case of detection of manipulation of the company's financial statements, it is to be expected that there will be a loss of trust of the stakeholders, which, in combination with the presentation of the actual state of the company's operations, can lead to extremely negative conseque nces for the company's operations, including bankruptcy or liquidation. In the theoretical part of this paper, numerous audit criteria are presented, starting from the conceptual definition of audit and ending with the conceptual definition of financial statements and highlighting the importance of auditing financial statements. In the empirical part of this paper, examples of the biggest audit scandals are presented, with special reference to one of the biggest scandals in the Republic of Croatia, namely the case of Agrokor. Although numerous provisions have been implemented in the new version of the Audit Act, the aim of which is to prevent the occurrence of future manipulations with financial statements, only in the future will it be shown how successful the implemented changes are in practice.