(a) Skip audit steps as Megan suggested, (b) “Eat time” as Scott suggested, (c) Do the job
quickly, but do it right and record as many hours as it takes, regardless whether you come in
under budget or not, (d) Go talk to John and express your concerns over the matter, (e) Go to
John’s “mentor” or supervisor—the engagement manager or partner—to discuss the matter and
seek advice.
a) Pro: Skipping audit steps will allow Brent to complete the work in less time, thus allowing
him to come in under budget and to spend some time with his wife.
Con: Skipping audit steps can lead to inaccurate audit decisions. Material misstatements
could go unnoticed by the firm, leading to an inaccurate audit opinion. This alternative also
raises a serious ethical issue with serious possible consequences for the auditors involved.
b) Pro: “Eating time” will mean a lot of extra “off-line” work for Brent, but he will come in
under budget and he may be recognized as someone who can get the job done.
Con: “Eating time” will create inaccurate and progressively tighter budgets in the future, as
the case suggests happened last year. “Eating time” also results in audit time records doing a
poor job of reflecting the actual cost of doing the audit. This may result in poor decisions at
higher levels of engagement management, especially if engagement management is unaware
of the time being eaten. Many also see eating time as a serious ethical issue.
c) Pro: This alternative gets the job done and no shortcuts need to be made. Brent may receive
a good reputation for not taking shortcuts to get the job done.
Con: Brent will come in over budget using this alternative. He may receive a bad reputation
for not finishing segments in the budgeted time, and may receive a poor engagement
performance evaluation from John.
d) Pro: This alternative allows Brent to discuss the matter with John and get his feedback.
Brent can be sure there are no misunderstandings of what John wants. Brent can express his
concerns over the alternatives he’s faced with. John may be able to give some advice to help
Brent legitimately complete the work (e.g., through valid substitutions of control reliance
and analytical procedures or other less costly procedures) and still come in under budget.
Con: John may see Brent as a threat to his promotion. This could lead to Brent receiving a
poor performance evaluation, etc.
e) Pro: This alternative allows Brent to receive feedback on expectations from higher levels of
engagement management. If John’s plans violate engagement management’s expectations,
they may resolve the situation directly with John.
Con: Going over a supervisor’s head without first speaking with that supervisor brings several
possible negative consequences, including the possible perception by John’s supervisors that
Brent lacks good judgment in dealing with workplace issues. Brent’s reputation will almost
certainly suffer with John, and could suffer with other professionals in the office as well.