You are the finance director of White Rock City. Your current auditor informs you that he is retiring and selling his auditing practice. When you seek his advice regarding the hiring of the accounting firm that is currently helping to integrate a new accounting system for the city, he mentions that you would first want to check the new GAGAS threats to independence. He recently read an article about the seven threats, but because he was retiring, he did not pay much attention to their content. He also recommends preparing a request for proposal (RFP) for the audit services that would be published locally.

Required
a. Access the Government Accountability Office’s Government Auditing Standards at www.gao.gov/yellowbook, and identify the seven threats to auditor independence. Do you think any of the threats apply to the accounting firm that is helping to integrate the new accounting system?
b. Prepare a list of items that you would like your accounting staff to include in an RFP.