Jim has been thinking about CondoCleaners.com for the last three months now. He has been a bit distracted at work and has had some difficulty concentrating, as he has started organizing a request for proposal for his new website and for a market study to help him plan his approach. After discussions with the firm’s personnel partner, he decided to give the firm four months’ notice, rather than leaving in the middle of a busy season. The firm is sorry to see him go and has said that there will always be a job there for him. Jim is wondering if he should ask the current client he is working on, a marketing company, to complete a market survey for him.
REQUIRED
Explain why or why not Jim should use the services of his firm’s audit client for the CondoCleaners.com market study. What other potential qualify control or independence issues are caused by Jim’s proposed new business?