backup systems, but are still having trouble boosting income.
The audit team was led by Theresa Sanford, who obtained her CA last year. Theresa had
two assistants, Marv and Uhta, who did the work in the accounts receivable and
inventory area. Theresa felt that they did not require supervision, as they had been with
the firm for two years, and were expected to do well on their professional exams this
year. Marv found that the accounts receivable had many old accounts, and customers
were tough to get hold of. Accordingly, he decided to accept management’s
representations with respect to the balances. Similarly, Uhta noted that there were still
many CDs in inventory that had been there for over three years. Management insisted
on recording these at cost. Uhta accepted managements’ valuation.
Two months after the audit report was issued, Musical Productions Limited went
bankrupt. It was found that many accounts receivable were for fictitious customers, and
the receiver was only able to obtain five cents on the dollar for the inventory, which was
sold as scrap.
The bank is suing the auditors to recover its bank loan, which had been renegotiated
based upon the results of the financial statements.
Required:
Will the bank be successful in its suit? Why or why not?