Question Tag: Confidentiality

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  • 15 Marks

AAA – Nov 2013 – L3 – SB – Q1 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Evaluate whether to comply with a former executive’s request for audit services while addressing confidentiality in auditor-client relationships.

Your firm acts as the auditors and advisers to Naija Seven Limited, and to its four directors. The company is owned 50% by Praise Caro, 25% by his wife Madame, and 10% by James Patrick. Braima is the Chief Executive, and Julius is the Finance Director. Julius’ sister, Mabel Mama, recently resigned from the executive board following a disagreement with Praise. Mabel Mama formed her own company, Nigeri Heaven, in competition with Naija Seven.

Currently, Mabel is negotiating with her former co-executives on the profit-related remuneration due to her and the sale of her 15% holding of shares in Naija Seven to one or all of them.

Mabel Mama has contacted you to find out Praise Caro’s current remuneration package since he refused to disclose it to her. She has also requested that your firm should continue to act as her personal adviser, financial adviser, and auditor to Nigeri Heaven.

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  • 20 Marks

AAA – Nov 2016 – L3 – Q2 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Discuss ethical and legal obligations of auditors regarding independence, confidentiality, money laundering, and client competition safeguards.

As an Audit Manager in a big audit firm in Nigeria, you were opportuned to attend a conference on Professional Ethics and Anti-Money Laundering in New York. On your return, one of the audit seniors went through the presentations and asked questions on some of the statements she noted in the presentations.

You are required to explain the following statements to her:

a. A good Auditor is an independent auditor. (5 Marks)
b. The Accountant’s normal professional duty of confidentiality to clients is not an adequate defence where money laundering is involved. (5 Marks)
c. Specific obligations for detecting and reporting suspicions of money laundering are placed on professional firms. (5 Marks)
d. A firm might act for two clients that are in direct competition with each other where there are acceptable safeguards. (5 Marks)

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  • 1 Marks

AAA – Nov 2012 – L3 – SA – Q1 – Regulatory Framework and Professional Standards

Understanding conditions under which an auditor may disclose client’s confidential information.

An auditor can disclose the client’s confidential information for the following reasons EXCEPT:
A. Auditor suspects that the client has committed treason
B. When there is a public duty to disclose
C. Disclosure is needed to protect the auditor’s interest
D. When the client has committed an act of felony
E. When information is formally requested by another client

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  • 1 Marks

AAA – Nov 2011 – L3 – SA – Q5 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Identifies exceptions where auditors may not disclose a client's confidential information.

Auditors can disclose the client’s confidential information for the following reasons EXCEPT:

  • A. Auditors know client has committed terrorist offence
  • B. Information is required by the auditor for another client
  • C. Auditors suspect client has committed treason
  • D. There is public duty to disclose
  • E. Disclosure is needed to protect auditor’s own interest

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  • 20 Marks

AA – May 2016 – L2 – Q3 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Examination of ethical issues in client engagement, fundamental ethical principles, and lawful disclosure obligations for auditors.

You have recently been appointed the auditors of Spicer Plc, a company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange. The directors of Spicer Plc have recommended that you perform the following services:

  • The statutory audit of the annual accounts
  • Taxation services
  • Consultancy services in respect of the implementation of a new information technology system

Your firm has not acted for Spicer Plc before but does act as auditors to one of its major competitors.

Required:
a. Identify and explain the professional and ethical issues that should have been identified by your firm in relation to the provision of the services outlined above to Spicer Plc and describe the safeguards that should be in place in order to address these issues. (11 marks)

b. What are the five fundamental principles of ethics? Briefly explain their meaning. (5 marks)

c. A client’s affairs should not be disclosed to third parties. However, where a client has been guilty of an unlawful act, to whom should the auditor disclose this information, and in what order? (4 marks)

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  • 20 Marks

CSME – May 2017 – L2 – SB – Q2 – Corporate Culture and Strategy

Discuss the cultural web and the ethical principles for maintaining client confidentiality.

Johnson and Scholes suggested that there is a cultural web within an organization.

Required:

a. Discuss the idea of the cultural web and its interrelated elements in a way that would assist a new employee to understand this concept in a business organization. (15 Marks)

b. As a professional accountant, explain any TWO ethical principles or requirements you would consider in deciding whether or not to keep a promise to maintain confidentiality with regards to information acquired from a client in the ordinary course of business. (5 Marks)

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  • 20 Marks

AA – May 2023 – L2 – SA – Q3 – Planning an Audit

Key preliminary audit activities, confidentiality characteristics, and stages of analytical review.

The following issues emanated from the pre-audit meeting of FIFO Limited:

  1. The operating environment has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Management has responded with policy initiatives to stem negative impacts, resulting in financial contractions in Q2 2020 that affected half-year results and necessitated budget revisions. Effects included GDP shrinkage, lower investment yields, foreign exchange rate growth, and inflation.
  2. Increased accounts receivable due to customers’ repayment issues.
  3. Focus on liquidity to support daily operations.
  4. Volatile profit before tax, requiring alternative materiality benchmarks such as gross profit or total revenue.
  5. Firm’s software calculates materiality based on selected benchmarks, with auditor judgment essential in assessing materiality.
  6. Engagement team declaration of independence and confidentiality of client information.
  7. Completion of preliminary engagement activities on schedule for timely review.
  8. Use of preliminary analytical review as a risk assessment tool to identify unusual transactions, events, and trends that may indicate audit-relevant matters, including fraud risks. This should be handled with care.

Required:

a. State the preliminary activities to be undertaken before the commencement of the audit. (6 Marks)

b. State the characteristics of confidentiality in auditing. (7 Marks)

c. Explain briefly the purposes of analytical review. (4 Marks)

d. State at what stage of the audit an analytical review should be performed. (3 Marks)

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  • 6 Marks

AA – Nov 2015 – L2 – Q5a – Professional Ethics and Code of Conduct for Auditors (IESBA Code)

Discussing the fundamental principle of duty of confidentiality in audit and assurance engagements.

Briefly discuss the fundamental principle of Duty of Confidentiality.

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  • 1 Marks

BL – May 2014 – L1 – SA – Q17 – Law Relating to Banking

Identifying circumstances under which a banker may disclose customer information.

A banker may disclose information of its customer’s account in the following circumstances EXCEPT where:
A. The banker is lawfully compelled to do so
B. The customer’s creditor demands it
C. It is in the banker’s interest to disclose it
D. The customer makes express or implied request for it
E. The banker is required to disclose by law

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  • 5 Marks

CR – May 2020 – Q3b(ii) – Ethical Actions in Contract Bidding

This question requires recommendations for maintaining ethical standards in a contract bidding situation involving a conflict of interest.

Recommend the possible courses of action that you will take in order to be ethically responsible as expected from a Professional Accountant.

 

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  • 5 Marks

CR – May 2020 – Q3b(i) – Ethical Issues in Contract Bidding

This question requires a discussion on the ethical issues related to conflict of interest, confidentiality, and professional behavior in a contract bidding scenario.

You have just obtained your full membership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana). Following this successful achievement, you have been appointed as the Head of Finance at Asasiyemedeh Company Limited, a Ghanaian company, which provides catering services. Your former employer, Akwaba Limited, is a large public sector organization operating in Accra, where, as the Financial Accountant, you had the opportunity to work on areas relating to financial accounting, procurement, contracts, and bids. One of Asasiyemedeh Company Limited’s major contracts is with Akwaba Limited, your former employer. The contract is now due for renewal, and Asasiyemedeh Company Limited is preparing a competitive bid for this contract.

You have been tasked to lead the team responsible for bidding for this contract, but you are concerned as a professional that you might breach confidentiality if you accept this role. You also suspect that your knowledge and experience of Akwaba Limited were seen as good reasons for appointing you to the position of Head of Finance at Asasiyemedeh Company Limited. You do not in any way want to let your new employer down as you are aware that the loss of such a major contract would have a significant effect on the financial performance of Asasiyemedeh Company Limited, and its performance-related bonus scheme for management members.

Required:
Discuss the ethical issues raised in the above scenario.

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  • 6 Marks

FR – May 2020 – L2 – Q5a – Ethical Dilemmas in Tendering Process

This question focuses on the ethical course of action in tendering when faced with insider information in the internal audit context.

Mrs. Stella Amoah (Stella), a Chartered Accountant and Head of Internal Audit in Ningo Communications Authority (NCA), is about to tender for a contract in Internal Audit Service. A new member of her team, Mr. Stephen Appiah Coker (Stephen), has been recruited from the Internal Audit Service, where he previously worked in the department responsible for devising the tender contract. Although Stephen was not involved with the tender process, his former colleague and friend is responsible for the tender specification document and the evaluation process.

Stephen had sight of some of the requirements and has offered to share with Stella information that may be of use when preparing the tender. However, this information is confidential and should not be seen by any of the tendering parties.

It will be an open tender process for both external and internal providers. Bids from external providers are being encouraged. The evaluation process has been designed with this in mind. If the contract is awarded externally, Stella will be unsure of her personal position in the organization. She understands that using any insider knowledge of the tendering process would be inappropriate when preparing the tender proposal, but she feels she would have a better chance of success if she used this confidential information.

Required:
Advise Mrs. Stella Amoah on THREE (3) courses of action she should take in order to act ethically in the tendering process given in the above scenario.

 

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  • 1 Marks

BL – Nov 2014 – L1 – SA – Q19 – Hire Purchase and Consumer Credit Transactions

Identify the incorrect duty of a bank to its customers.

ONE of the duties of a bank to its customers is the duty of/not
A. Employment
B. Pay on their behalf without mandate
C. To assist them
D. Secrecy
E. To give scholarship to their children

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  • 5 Marks

BL – Nov 2021 – L1 – SB – Q5d – Company Law

bank confidentiality.

A bank owes its customer a strict duty to treat information on the customer’s account with secrecy and confidentiality.

Required:
i. State THREE instances in which the bank may lawfully divulge information on the customer’s account (3 Marks).
ii. When should the bank avoid the duty of keeping the customer’s accounts separated? (2 Marks)

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  • 6 Marks

FR – Mar/Jul 2020 – L2 – Q2d – Fundamental Principles of ICAN Code of Ethics

Explanation of five fundamental principles set out in the ICAN code of ethics.

Explain FIVE fundamental principles set out in the ICAN code of ethics.
(5 Marks)

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  • 5 Marks

AA – May 2021 – L2 – Q2a – Professional and Ethical Considerations

Explain the five fundamental principles of the Code of Ethics for audit practitioners.

The IFAC Code of ethics governs the practice of auditing to ensure that practitioners will act in the public interest. Furthermore, in an audit, many relevant auditing standards must be followed to perform work that will serve the needs of the users of the Auditor’s report.

Required:
Explain each of the FIVE (5) fundamental principles of the Code of Ethics and conduct for professional audit practitioners. (5 marks)

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  • 5 Marks

AA – Nov 2018 – L2 – Q3d – Professional and Ethical Considerations

Explains safeguards to manage conflicts of interest when auditing competitors.

The Finance Director of the Company informed the audit partner that the reason for appointing Add Consult as auditors was because they audit other similar companies, including the Company’s main competitor. The Finance Director doubts how Add Consult keeps information (obtained during the audit) confidential.

Required:
Explain the safeguards which your firm should implement to ensure that this conflict of interest is properly managed. (5 marks)

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  • 10 Marks

AA – Nov 2018 – L2 – Q2a – Internal Audit and Its Relationship with External Audit

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing the internal audit function compared to maintaining an in-house team.

a) Proper Banking Limited (PBL) has been trading for 20 years selling banking products and has recently become a listed company. In accordance with corporate governance principles of Bank of Ghana, PBL maintains a small internal audit department. The board of directors feels that the authorized business of the Company is banking which is core to the success of PBL. On 20 November 2017, the Operational and Governance Committee of the Board met to discuss whether to maintain the internal audit department and increase its size and build its expertise or to outsource the whole function to their external auditors, International & Co with headquarters in Accra, Ghana, with a global presence in over ninety-nine (99) countries.

Required:
Advise the Board of PBL on the advantages and disadvantages of whether to outsource or maintain their internal audit function. (10 marks)

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  • 5 Marks

FR – Nov 2021 – L2 – Q5b – Professional and Ethical Issues in Financial Reporting

Advising a Chartered Accountant on how to handle an ethical dilemma in relation to confidentiality and fraudulent acts in compliance with IFAC’s code of ethics.

Ata Kwaku, a Chartered Accountant, signed a confidentiality agreement with his employer, Therry Ltd, before accepting the offer of employment. Unfortunately, Ata Kwaku inadvertently came across a fraudulent act perpetrated by the shareholders of Therry Ltd. The shareholders also managed the business, and before Ata Kwaku’s appointment, one of the shareholders managed the accounts. The auditors of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s tax compliance unit are asking for documents that might expose the fraudulent act.

Required:

In accordance with IFAC’s Code of Ethics, advise Ata Kwaku on how to respond appropriately in relation to the ethical principles that apply. (5 marks)

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  • 10 Marks

FR – Aug 2022 – L2 – Q5a – Professional and Ethical Issues in Financial Reporting

Discuss the potential ethical issues in breaching IFAC’s Code of Ethics and recommend actions to deal with the ethical dilemma in the context of project reporting.

You are a newly qualified accountant in practice, and you lead a team providing management consultancy services. In recent years, your practice has undertaken several assignments on manufacturing efficiency improvements for medium-sized, listed groups of companies in Ghana. One of the Regional Directors has requested an urgent investigation into Project A due to delays and potential cost overruns. After some initial investigation, your team discovers significant issues that could cause a delay of at least three months and additional costs of GH¢7 million to GH¢10 million, not including possible compensation claims.

One week before the final report is due, the Finance Director of the group calls you and asks for an update on Project A’s status. He mentions that the Regional Director informed the Board that the additional costs would only be GH¢4 million to GH¢5 million, with a delay of about six to eight weeks. He asks for confirmation of this information before the upcoming Board meeting, where they will discuss remedial actions for the group’s cash flow.

Required:

i) Discuss the potential ethical issues involved in breaching the fundamental principles of IFAC’s Code of Ethics. (5 marks)
ii) Recommend the possible actions that you should take as a newly admitted member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana, in dealing with this ethical dilemma. (5 marks)

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