Objectives:
The article presents the principles and possible applications of Beneish's M-score model. It then examines whether companies operating in the construction and building-materials sectors listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange are more frequently flagged by the Beneish model as showing signals of potential financial statement manipulation than companies from other industries.

Material and methods:
The study combines a literature review with empirical verification of the model's indications. The analysis covered 7,701 individual firm-year financial statements of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange for the financial years 2004-2023. Due to the construction of the Beneish model, data from the preceding period were also used to calculate year-to-year indicators. In addition, the number of red flags assigned to each statement was analyzed.

Results:
Contrary to expectations based on the literature review, financial statements of construction-sector companies were less frequently flagged by the five-factor Beneish model than financial statements of companies from other industries. The share of flagged financial statements was 13.8% in the construction sector and 22.8% in other industries. The relationship was statistically significant, but effect-size measures indicate that the association was weak.

Conclusions:
The findings suggest that sector-based screening with the Beneish model should not focus exclusively on construction companies. The practical contribution of the study lies in showing that assumptions about higher manipulation risk in the construction sector should be empirically verified and that model-based signals should be treated as a preliminary screening tool for investors, auditors and regulators rather than as proof of misconduct.