John is a staff accountant in a public accounting firm. He is assigned to the audit of a new client. On the very first day, the client's manager told John that their company was

having financial difficulty. The manager told John that some of the allowances for uncollectables were re$-$evaluated much lower than in previous years. The manager explained

that the numbers needed a little "help" so that investors are not disappointed with the results. The manager insists that this is a one$-$time request. The best action for John to

take is:

Tell the CEO about the conversation with the manager

Tell another staff accountant who is a friend and ask for his advice

Inform his immediate supervisor about the conversation with the manager

Ignore the situation because John doesn't know if there is any wrongdoing