Independence Question The firm of Richards & Co., CPA's has offices in Kansas City and St. Louis. Mikell Company, which has two million shares of outstanding stock, is audited by the Kansas City office of Richards & Co. Erin of the Kansas City office is the partner in charge of the audit. For each of the following circumstances, indicate whether the public accounting firm's independence is impaired with respect to Mikell Company and why or why not. (3 points each) a. Evan is a staff assistant on the audit. Evan's mother works for Mikell as an Accounting Manager. b. Charlotte is a staff assistant in the St. Louis office and owns 8 percent of Mikell's outstanding common stock. Charlotte provides no services to Mikell and is not able to influence the engagement. c. Graham, a partner in the St. Louis office, owns 1,000 shares of the stock of Mikell. He has no responsibilities with respect to the Mikell audit. d. Lenore, is a partner in the St. Louis office and owns 500 shares of the stock of Mikell. She is a specialist in Mikell's industry and occasionally offers insight to the audit team for Mikell. e. Chase, a partner of the Kansas City office, owns 100 shares of the stock of Mikell Co. He has no responsibilities with respect to the Mikell audit