An experienced internal auditor is planning an assurance engagement of the organization's sales activities. During process walkthroughs and interviews, many sales representatives expressed concerns…

Question

Options

• ADisregard the complaints because the information isn't reliable and isn't sufficient to support
• BConsider the significance of the risks related to the complaints and develop appropriate assurance
• CDisregard the complaints because using them would violate the confidentiality principle.
• DDiscuss management's needs and expectations related to including the complaints in the audit

• A
  4% (2)
• B
  80% (36)
• C
  4% (2)
• D
  11% (5)

Explanation

Option B is correct because due professional care requires auditors to actively consider information gathered during the planning phase - including concerns raised by staff - and assess whether those concerns represent significant risks that warrant audit attention. Complaints about pressure to meet sales goals are a classic red flag for potential fraud or ethical lapses, and a competent auditor must evaluate their risk significance and plan procedures accordingly.

Why the distractors fail:

• A is wrong because dismissing relevant stakeholder concerns as "unreliable" contradicts due professional care - auditors must evaluate information, not reflexively discard it.
• C is wrong because confidentiality protects information from being disclosed outside the audit, not from being used within the engagement; the principle doesn't justify ignoring risk indicators.
• D is wrong because the decision to address risk-relevant information in the audit scope is the auditor's professional judgment call - it is not something to negotiate away with management, especially when management itself may be the source of the problematic pressure.

Memory tip: Think of due professional care as the "reasonable, vigilant auditor" standard - whenever you see a red flag raised by people inside the process, a reasonable auditor considers its risk significance and adjusts the plan. If an answer says "disregard" or "ask management for permission to care," it's almost certainly wrong.

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