Amy Love gingerly seated herself in the witness chair directly below the gently rotating fan hanging from the top of the high, arched ceiling. Her palms were slightly damp, but she hid this fact by methodically folding them across her lap. She raised her head and looked directly at her defense attorney, as she had been carefully instructed to do.
The defense attorney, dressed in a gray, vested suit, arose, deliberately checked a few pencil notes laying on the table, and strolled toward the witness box.

Required:

a. Write some questions and answers for the cross-examination of Ms. Love by the attorney of the third party primary beneficiary who is filing a suit for ordinary negligence.

b. Predict the outcome of the trial. Give your reasons.

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DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "Tell us about your professional background, Ms. Love." Ms. Love: "I graduated from Sufon University six years ago..." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "You are a CPA? Is that correct?" Ms. LOVE: "Yes, I am. I passed the examination during my first year at Best and Best." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "What is your current position with Best and Best?" Ms. Love: "I'm an audit manager." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "Tell me about your job ratings since you've been at Best and Best." Ms. Love: "Generally, they've been very good." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "Were you the manager of the audit engagement for Super Computer, Inc. just before they declared bankruptcy?" Ms. Love: "Yes, I was. That was for the calendar year ended December 31, 1996." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "And when did they declare bankruptcy?" Ms. LOVE: "Seven months ago, in August 1997." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "And what type of audit report did you give them?" Ms. Love: "We gave them an unqualified opinion on their financial statements for the year 1996," DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "Is it possible that you could certify that a profit amount, is say, $100,000 and it turns out to be only $50,000?" Ms. Love: "It is possible, but unlikely. That's why we give an opinion rather than a guaran- tee or certification, and that's why we say in our audit report that we're only giving reason- able assurance. There's always a risk that financial statements that we say are fair will turn out to be significantly misstated." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "You allow for that in what you call audit planning?" Ms. LOVE: "Yes, we do. We have to take some risk, just like any other professional." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "And didn't the people who ran Super Computer, Inc. hide many things from you?" Ms. LOVE (her face slightly flushed): "They certainly did." DEFENSE ATTORNEY: "Perhaps we should start from the beginning. Tell us what you know about Super Computer, Inc." Ms. Love (leaning back a little): "The company started in 1982 as a producer and seller of computer hardware and accompanying software that was compatible with it."