<Ul> <Li> Duty of care </Li> <Li> Breach of Duty </Li> <Li> Losses </Li> <Li> Causation </Li> </Ul> <Li> Duty of care </Li> <Li> Breach of Duty </Li> <P> CPAs may defend against a breach of contract if they can prove that the client's loss occurred because of factors other than negligence by the auditors . If the auditor proves the loss resulted from causes other than the auditor's negligence, a client may be accused of contributory negligence . If a state follows the doctrine of contributory negligence, the auditor may eliminate their liability to the client based on contributory negligence by the client . Many states do not follow this doctrine . Most states permit a jury to assess the fault and apply the correct percentage of fault to the parties involved . This is called comparative negligence . </P>

Under tort law to prove that and auditor has been negligent the plaintiff must establish