24. After completing an investigation, internal auditing has that an employee has stolen a significant amount of cash receipts. A draft of the proposed communication on this observation should be submitted for review to
A. Legal counsel
B. The board
C. The chief executive officer of the organization.
D. The organization's outside auditors.
Answer (A) is correct.
REQUIRED: The person(s) who should receive a draft of the proposed report on a fraud investigation.
DISCUSSION: The internal auditor must be concerned about the possibility of inclusion (and dissemination) of a statement for which the accused employee could sue the organization. Thus, a draft of the proposed final communications on fraud should be submitted to legal counsel for review. If the internal auditor wants to invoke client privilege, consideration should be given to addressing the report to legal counsel.
Answer (B) is incorrect. The board should receive a final draft of the report after it has been reviewed and approved by legal counsel.
Answer (C) is incorrect. If appropriate, the CEO may receive a final draft of the report after it has been reviewed and approve by legal counsel.
Answer (D) is incorrect. If it is customary to send the outside auditors copies of all internal auditing report, they should receive a final draft that has been reviewed and approved by legal counsel.