Victor Price, the vice president and controller of Republic Products, called Audrey Martin, Republic's audit manager.
"Audrey, have your auditors done any work in our data processsing department?"
"Yes sir. We've done an operational review there."
"What do you mean?"
"We've looked at their organization, their scheduling methods, how the users like the reports they've been getting, and the billings from the hardware supplier for the leased equipment."
"Fine. Then you should be able to carry out this assignment."
"What assignment?"
"The computer handles our inventory of finished products. It's all on tape. We get reports on what we have on hand, what's in process, what we're due to ship, what we've shipped, and the like. We've got our problems, though."
"What kind of problems?"
"The subsidiary ledger produced by the computer does not agree with the general ledger account. Our production people don't believe the work-inprocess figures. And our accounting people don't believe the financial reports.
Other than that, everything is fine."
"Why can't the data processing people correct their files?"
"They've tried. They worked on it for months. I'm getting desperate. I called our external auditors, but they tell me they can't get a team out here for another five months. They did say something about a software audit package that would do the job. As soon as I heard the word audit I thought of you.
Get it from them and audit our inventory records."
"Well, now — " But Price had already hung up. And Audrey had learned not to argue with him. Audrey called the partner responsible for the external audits of Republic's accounts and made arrangements to get the software package Price had mentioned. When it arrived — tapes, instructions, and forms — she handed the package to Sam Ingalls, the senior internal auditor who had carried out the operational audit of the computer room. He was 45 years old, an experienced internal auditor, hardworking, and intelligent. Sam had attended a seminar on computer technology; but that was the extent of his computer knowledge. Sam took the package, read the instructions, and made a date with Dred Pruitt, manager of the data processing department. Sam had not been the least bit concerned about Dred's disparaging remarks about his ability as an EDP auditor when he had made the operational audit. He had treaded on comfortable ground in that audit of the computer room. All the operations he had dealt with were little different from any other operational audit. He saw no reason why using the software package should be any more difficult. He could read instructions with the best of them.
He could fill out forms. And he wasn't afraid of Dred Pruitt or any gorilla that looked and sounded like Dred. He approached his meeting with Dred confidently.
Required: 

(1) What do you think will be the outcome of the meeting between Ingalls and Pruitt? 

(2) What should Audrey have done before letting Sam meet with Dred? 

(3) What should Sam do before using the software package to audit the inventory system?