For the inventory scenario developed in Problems 7-45 and 7-46, consider the type of monitoring that might be performed.

Required
a. Explain the monitoring element of the COSO internal control framework. More explicitly, does monitoring refer to the monitoring of other controls, or does it refer to the monitoring of operations? Explain the difference.
b. Identify two or three types of monitoring that would be effective once the company has fixed all the control deficiencies that might have existed.
c. For the monitoring approaches you have identified, (i) describe how the approach would work, and (ii) what evidence the auditor might want to gather to determine the effectiveness of the monitoring control.
d. Explain why an improvement in the robustness of the monitoring element of internal controls should lead to a decrease in cost for a company to comply with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.