Internal auditors for a bank were conducting a review of the bank's loan department. In the course of this review, an auditor noticed that one loan officer approved several loans based upon unusually old credit reports on the persons making loan applications. The auditor became concerned and directed the loan officer to obtain updated credit reports on all future loan applications before approving any of them. The auditor reported this directive with his other findings.

Required:

Was the auditor's action appropriate? Cite a specific reference in the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing to support your answer.