Christopher Brown has been appointed as a junior auditor of Apex Chartered Accountants (ACA). One of his first tasks is to review the firm's audit clients (all public interest entities) to ensure that independence requirements of APES 110 (Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants) are being met. His review has revealed the following:

Michelle, FCPA, is the engagement partner on the audit of Blue Steel Limited (BSL). Andrew Ferguson, FCPA, is not involved in the BSL audit but practices in the same office as Michelle. Andrew's wife Susan recently obtained a minor ownership interest (around 4%) in BSL as a result of a merger.

1. Identify potential threat(s) to independence & recommend safeguards (if any) to reduce the independence threat(s) identified.
2. Provide an objective assessment of whether audit independence can be achieved.