Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Part 1: Business Acumen — Question 90

The accounting department asked the chief audit executive (CAE) to perform a review of suspicious transactions. The CAE was an accounting manager for the organization six months ago. How should she respond to the request?

Answer options

• A. Decline, if it is a consulting engagement, because she recently worked in the organization's accounting department.
• B. Accept, if it is an assurance engagement, as she has been out of the department long enough to not impair objectivity.
• C. Inform the accounting department that the engagement can take place in the future, once she has been removed from accounting for a longer period of time.
• D. Accept, if it is a consulting engagement with agreed-upon scope and services to be provided by the internal audit activity.

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is D because accepting a consulting engagement with a defined scope allows the CAE to provide valuable insights without compromising objectivity. Answer A is incorrect as it dismisses the possibility of consulting engagements; B is wrong because it misinterprets the context of assurance engagements; C is not ideal since it unnecessarily delays a potentially valuable review.