Discuss the following situations in a group and report to the class:

a. What rules would you expect the codes of other professions to have in common with the AICPA? Explain.

b. Examine the SEC's basic principles regarding independence. Using only those principles, discuss and reach a conclusion as to whether the following services performed by a CPA for an audit client violates audit independence. If you believe that the services can be performed if safeguards are in place, state the safeguards:

1. A CPA firm prepares the client's tax return.

2. A CPA performs business risk analysis with a focus on economic and business risk rather than accounting risks.

3. A CPA performs marketing research, but only for non-audit clients. However, it does have a significant number of clients who are in the same industry for which it performs marketing research.

4. A client board member performs consulting work for the consulting division of the firm; the audit partner was not aware of the relationship of the board member to the firm.

5. A professor in a major university is doing a research project for a public accounting firm and also serves on the board of directors of one of the company's audit clients.