Merriman, Davenport, and Walker, P.C. is a regional public accounting firm located in Norfolk, Virginia. The firm specializes in audits of small to mid-size businesses and serves clients throughout Virginia, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina. Connie Merriman, the founding partner, started the firm in 1985, and now employs forty audit staff and four tax accountants. During the past twenty years, Merriman, Davenport, and Walker’s clients have become increasingly sophisticated in their computerized accounting applications. Most of the auditing staff members have developed IT auditing skills and employ them as deemed appropriate when conducting financial audits. However, Connie Merriman has felt for some time that hiring one or two specialized IT auditors would be a good idea and might reduce audit costs, and could also increase firm revenues.

Requirements:
1. Explain how the IT auditors might be able to reduce the cost of an annual audit for a mid-sized client?
2. How would the IT auditors most likely interface with the financial audit team on a specific client engagement?
3. What are some new services the firm might be able to offer that would help them to increase revenues?
4. What limitations on services that the IT auditors might perform are imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?