Read the following statements and indicate whether you agree or disagree with each one. Give your reasons for agreement or disagreement. Support your answers with references to applicable cases and/or laws discussed in this chapter.

a. The auditors’ liability to third parties for ordinary negligence under common law has widened since the Ultramares case.

b. The auditors’ exposure to charges of criminal fraud has widened in the last 20 years.

c. It is more difficult for a private citizen to sue a company for wrongdoing than it was 60 years ago.

d. Auditors spend less time than they used to gathering external evidence on receivables and inventory.

e. A third party must have a primary beneficiary relationship with the auditor to reasonably expect success in lawsuits against that auditor for ordinary negligence under common law.