a. Why is it sometimes difficult for auditors to exercise appropriate levels of professional skepticism in practice?

b. What practices can individual auditors apply to help them to remember to be professionally skeptical?

c. Imagine that you are working on an audit engagement. What are the personal characteristics of management or other company employees that might make you skeptical about whether or not they are providing you accurate audit evidence? Aside from personal observations, what publicly available information about management or other company employees could you obtain to determine whether you should exercise heightened professional skepticism in your dealings with these individuals?