5. Mendelssohn Company hired the independent CPA firm, Debussy, LLC for an independent audit to ensure the financial statements present fairly and contain no material misstatements according to U.S. GAAP.

a) Who is responsible for paying Debussy, LLC for their services of performing an audit?

b) Who is the direct beneficiary of the audit by Debussy, LLC?

c) Is there a conflict of interest between Mendelssohn paying Debussy, LLC to audit their financial statements and then asking for an opinion on those statements?