Question 1

List the principles of audit independence.

Assess the following situations in light of these principles and describe what action must be taken, if any, to restore independence.

Each of the four situations is independent of the others.

( a )The internal audit department is conducting a review of the payroll function. One of the audit staff is attracted to a payroll clerk and they start dating outside work.

( b )The senior internal auditor conducting a review of the purchasing function has found several weaknesses.He has recently moved house and wants to accept the offer by the purchasing manager of light fittings at trade discounts.The internal auditor decides not to report several weaknesses on agreement they will be rectified before the next review.

( c )During an audit of the EDP department a junior auditor is approached by the department head and offered a job. Because the auditor considers that the role would be more financially rewarding he advises the department head that he is interested.The internal auditor completes the audit without finding any adverse findings and then submits a job application to the EDP department.

( d )Following a successful period in the internal audit department, the audit manager applies for a Chief Auditor role with a competitor in the same industry.During the interview the company states that they would like their internal audit function run in the same way.They request that the auditor provides examples of audit programs and discrepancies found before making their decision.