You are the audit senior in charge of the audit of a medium-sized manufacturing company. You have asked the company secretary for the minutes of all board meetings held since the conclusion of last year’s audit work. The company secretary, who has only recently been appointed, refuses to give you access to the minutes for the following reasons:

(a) ‘The matters discussed at board meetings are confidential. | am not prepared to have a junior member of an audit firm, such as yourself, read them.’

(b) ‘The audit report relates to the profit and loss account and balance sheet, not to the board minutes. You have no right to see anything which is not relevant to the audit.’

(c) ‘It would take you hours to read through all of the detailed minutes. Your hourly charge-out rate is so high that it would cost a great deal for you to go through the minutes in our time. I do not think that the cost would be justified.’

Respond to each of the company secretary’s comments.