In the audit of a nonissuer, which of the following statements is correct regarding the use of external confirmations to obtain audit evidence?

A) Managements refusal to allow an auditor to perform external confirmation procedures is considered a departure from GAAP sufficient to qualify the opinion.

B) Negative confirmations provide more persuasive audit evidence than positive confirmations.

C) Negative confirmations should be used only if a very high exception rate is expected.

D) A factor for an auditor to consider when designing confirmation requests is the assertion being tested.