Independence. You are meeting with executives of Cooper Cosmetics Corporation to arrange your firm’s engagement to audit the corporation’s financial statements for the year ending December 31. One executive suggests the audit work be divided among three staff members. One person would examine asset accounts, a second would examine liability accounts, and the third would examine income and expense accounts to minimize audit time, avoid duplication of staff effort, and curtail interference with entity operations. Advertising is the corporation’s largest expense, and the advertising manager suggests that a staff member of your firm whose uncle owns the advertising agency that handles the corporation’s advertising be assigned to examine the Advertising Expense account because the staff member has a thorough knowledge of the complex contact between Cooper Cosmetics and the advertising agency.

Required:
a. To what extent should auditors follow the client’s suggestions for the conduct of an audit? Discuss.
b. List and discuss the reasons that audit work should not be assigned solely according to asset, liability, and income and expense categories.
c. Should the staff member of your accounting firm whose uncle owns the advertising agency be assigned to examine advertising costs? Discuss.