The following is a conversation between you, audit junior, and Mitch Bray, the other junior assigned to the Hillsburg audit engagement.
MB: Hey. Did you update your social media profiles?
AJ: No, not yet.
MB: I added, BBK LLP. as my current place of employment to my Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook profiles. A couple of weeks after updating my LinkedIn profile, I was actually contacted by a recruiter asking me if I would be interested in a job opportunity at another public accounting firm.
AJ: Oh wow, did you respond back to the recruiter?
MB: No, not yet. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something that came up.
AJ: Yes?
MB: Do you remember my friend Peter?
AJ: Yeah, Peter. His parents own a small paint store.
MB: Yes, that Peter. He is trying to help out his parents with their store and came up with a social media advertising campaign to promote Hillsburg’s Dureux paint. He hopes this will turn around the store’s declining sales.
AJ: Hillsburg? The same Hillsburg we are going to begin auditing next week?
MB: Yes, the same Hillsburg. Peter asked me for a favour,
and I don’t know what to do.
AJ: What did he ask you for?
MB: Peter wants to give me a couple of cans of the Hillsburg’s Dureux paint for free. In return he wants me to post a photo of the painted room on my social media accounts saying how great the Hillsburg’s Dureux paint is. He also wants me to tweet a link to his parents’ store website and the Hillsburg’s Dureux paint website. He is asking all of his friends to do the same hoping that this promotion goes viral.
AJ: Were you planning to paint your room?
MB: Yes.
AJ: Well, then take advantage of the offer.
MB: Yeah, but there is something else. Peter also wants me
to post online and tweet fake bad reviews about Berh paint sold at Home Hardware, Kenny’s, and TIMBR. He hopes that people will read the bad fake reviews and instead of buying Berh paint will purchase Hillsburg’s Dureux paint from his parents’ store. Here, look at my phone, Peter just texted me and all of his other friends this text message that he wants everyone to post and tweet.
MB: Peter and I have been friends forever. His parents treat me like their own son, so I think I am going to help him out. Anyhow, don’t forget to update your place of employment on online profiles so that everyone can now see that you are a proud employee of Boritz, Kao, Kadous & Co., LLP!
AJ: Yeah, I will do that. By the way, speaking of Kenny’s and TIMBR, I overheard a couple of the tax partners talking in the lunchroom and bragging how this year they got Kenny’s and TIMBR as their new tax clients and how they will get bigger bonuses because Boritz, Kao, Kadous & Co., LLP will be doing taxes for all of the Kenny’s and TIMBR stores in the province.
MB: Cool, maybe there will be some bonuses for us too!
AJ: I wish.

REQUIRED
a. Identify the type of the potential independence threat that is referenced in the discussion between the audit junior and Mitch and comment if the independence threat is in “fact” or “appearance.”
b. Follow the steps in the ethical reasoning process outlined in the chapter, identify and evaluate the ethical issue faced by Mitch.