Brent Dorsey graduated six months ago with a master’s degree in accounting. Immediately after graduation, Brent began working with a large accounting firm in Portland, Oregon. He is now on his second audit engagement—a company called Northwest Steel Producers. Working day to day with Brent on the audit are two other staff auditors, Han Choi and Megan Mills, along with the senior auditor, John Peters. Han and Megan are both second-year staff accountants and are anticipating a promotion to senior in the next year. 

John Peters has been with the firm for about five years and has been a senior-level auditor for almost three years. Following this busy season, the partners and managers will decide which seniors to promote to manager. The rumor around the office is that only four or five of the seven eligible seniors in the office will be promoted in the Portland office. Those not promoted in Portland will likely be asked to transfer to other offices within the firm that need new managers or possibly even be “counseled out” of the firm. John has done a reasonably good job on the audits under his supervision, yet he feels he is “on the bubble” as far as the promotion in Portland goes. He has recently received a few performance evaluations that have criticized him for letting his jobs get “out of control” (i.e., over budget and beyond deadline). He believes his performance on the Northwest Steel Producers audit could make a difference in his chances to stay in Portland. John and his wife are both from the Portland area, and neither one is ready for a transfer. 

Northwest Steel is one of the office’s biggest clients. The firm has been auditing Northwest for the past 13 years. Because of the client’s reporting deadline, the Northwest Steel audit is notorious for tight deadlines and long hours.

REQUIRED 

[1] What alternatives are available to Brent in regards to the audit of payables? What are the pros and cons of each alternative? 

[2] Identify at least three specific things John, Brent, and the other auditors could do to better handle the demands of career and family life and proactively manage their work/life balance? 

[3] What consequences for Brent, the auditing firm, and others involved, may arise from “eating time,” as Han suggested? Similarly, what consequences for Brent, the auditing firm, and others involved, may arise from not completing but signing off on audit procedures, as Megan suggested? 

[4] In your opinion, which of Brent’s alternative courses of action would provide the best outcome and why? What should Brent do? How would you handle the ethical issues involved in this situation if you were Brent...what would you do and who would you talk to? PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT QUESTIONS It is recommended that you read the Professional Judgment Introduction found at the beginning of this book prior to responding to the following questions. 

[5] [a] How might the confirmation tendency influence Brent's decision? 

[b] How might the availability tendency come into play in Brent's decision? 

[c] What could Brent do to mitigate the effects of the confirmation and availability tendencies to improve his professional judgment? 

[6] Consider what judgment frames Brent seems to be focused on. What other frames might be useful for Brent to consider in making a well-considered decision in this case?