In anticipation of an upcoming engagement, an internal audit team recently toured the company's receiving, warehousing, and production facilities to obtain a better understanding of day$-$to$-$day operations. Listed below are selected items noted by the internal audit team during the tour:

A large quantity of materials was sitting in a corner near the unloading docks. The receiving manager informed the audit team that the delivery trucks had already left. The materials had not yet been counted or inspected.

One section of the warehouse contained large quantities of items with inventory tags from several physical inventory counts. The warehouse manager told the audit team that this was the company's inventory of spare parts that it was required by law to keep on hand for specified time periods.

Hazardous chemicals are used in the inventory finishing process. Waste chemicals are stored in large plastic barrels in a designated area of the factory before being shipped for disposal.

For each item noted by the internal audit team:

a$.$ Describe the potential business risk$($s$)$ associated with the item.

b$.$ Discuss how the internal auditors' knowledge of the risks identified might affect a subsequent audit of the materials acquisition and production processes. ${?}^2$