The CPA firm of Webster, Warren, & Webb LLP issued an adverse opinion on the internal control of Alexandria Financial, a public company, due to a material weakness. The weakness involved the lack of sufficient accounting expertise to evaluate and adopt appropriate accounting principles. Subsequent to issuance of the report, management of Alexandria hired a new controller to eliminate the weakness.
a. Describe what steps Alexandria must perform to engage Webster, Warren, & Webb to issue a report indicating that the weakness no longer exists.
b. Describe how Webster, Warren, & Webb should approach the engagement.
c. Describe what Webster, Warren, & Webb must do if, during the course of the engagement, a member of the audit team discovers another material weakness in internal control over financial reporting. Will the new weakness affect the auditors’ report?