You are an audit manager in Fayre & Even, a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. Your specific responsibilities include planning the allocation of professional staff to audit assignments. The following matters have arisen in connection with the audits of three client companies:

(a) The finance director of Almond, a private limited company, has requested that only certain staff are to be included on the audit team to prevent unnecessary disruption to Almond's accounting department during the conduct of the audit. In particular, he has requested that Xavier be assigned as manager of the audit and that no new trainees be included in the audit team. Xavier has been the manager for this client for the last two years.
(b) Alex was one of the audit trainees assigned to the audit of Phantom, a private limited company, for the year ended 31 March 20X6. Alex resigned from Fayre & Even with effect from 30 November 20X6 to pursue a career in medicine. Kurt, another audit manager, has just told you that on the day Alex left he told Kurt that he had ticked schedules of audit work as having been performed when he had not actually carried out the tests.
(c) During the recent interim audit of Magenta, a private limited company, the audit manager, Jamie, has discovered a material error in the prior year financial statements for the year ended 31 December 20X6. These financial statements had disclosed an unquantifiable contingent liability for pending litigation. However, the matter was settled out of court for £45m on 14 March 20X7. The Auditor's Report on the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 20X6 was signed on 19 March 20X7. Jamie believes that Magenta's management is not aware of the error and has not drawn it to their attention.

Required:
Comment on the ethical, quality control and other professional issues raised by each of the above matters and their implications, if any, for Fayre & Even’s staff planning.