Question Tag: Staff Assignments

You are the Audit Manager at Ndaa & Associates whose client portfolio includes ABC Credit Plc, a listed financial institution offering loans and credit facilities to both commercial and retail customers. You have received an email from the Audit Supervisor who is currently supervising interim testing on systems and controls in relation to the audit of ABC Credit Plc for the year ending 31 October 2022. The email gives the following details for your consideration:

1. One of the audit team members, Obiba JK, has provisionally agreed to apply for a loan from ABC Credit Plc to finance the purchase of a domestic residence. The loan will be secured on a property, and the client’s business manager has promised Obiba JK that he will ensure that she gets ‘the very best deal which the bank can offer.’ (5 marks)
2. The payroll manager at ABC Credit Plc has asked the audit supervisor if it would be possible for Ndaa & Associates to provide a member of staff on secondment to work in the payroll department. The payroll manager has struggled to recruit a new supervisor for the organisation’s main payroll system and wants to assign a qualified member of the audit firm’s staff for an initial period of six months. (5 marks)

Required:
Assess the ethical and professional implications of the issues raised in respect of the audit of ABC Credit Plc and recommend actions to be taken in each case by the audit firm.