2016美国注册会计师《财务会计与报告》预习题(5)

　　1.According to the standards of the profession, which of the following circumstances will prevent a CPA performing audit engagements from being independent?

　　a. Litigation with a client relating to billing for consulting services for which the amount is immaterial.

　　b. Employment of the CPA\'s spouse as a client\'s internal auditor.

　　c. Acting as an honorary trustee for a not-for-profit organization client.

　　d. Obtaining a collateralized automobile loan from a financial institution client.

　　答案：B

　　Explanation

　　Choice "b" is correct. Independence of a member is impaired if the CPA\'s spouse is employed by the client in a position which is audit-sensitive. Examples of positions that are audit-sensitive include cashier, internal auditor, accounting supervisor, purchasing agent, or inventory warehouse supervisor.

　　Choice "d" is incorrect. The following types of loans do not impair independence:

　　1. Automobile loans,

　　2. Loans of the surrender value under terms of an insurance policy,

　　3. Borrowings fully collateralized by cash deposits at the same financial institution, and

　　4. Credit cards and cash advances on checking accounts with an aggregate unpaid balance of $10,000 or less.

　　Choice "a" is incorrect. Litigation not related to the engagement for an immaterial amount does not impair independence.

　　Choice "c" is incorrect. Acting as an honorary trustee for a not-for-profit company does not impair independence.

　　2.Under the ethical standards of the profession in the United States, which of the following circumstances would impair independence in the audit of an issuer but would not impair independence in the audit of a nonissuer?

　　a. The audit firm provided a loan to the client during the prior year.

　　b. The audit firm has an immaterial direct financial interest in the client.

　　c. The lead partner has worked on the audit engagement of a client for ten years.

　　d. The firm performing the financial statement audit also designed and implemented the client\'s financial information system.

　　答案：C

　　Explanation

　　Choice "c" is correct. The ethical standards that apply to the audits of issuers (SOX/PCAOB/SEC) require that the lead partner rotate off the audit engagement after 5 years. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, which is followed when auditing nonissuers, does not require audit partner rotation.

　　Choice "d" is incorrect. All U.S. ethical standards prohibit the performance of financial information systems design and implementation services for audit clients.

　　Choice "a" is incorrect. Loans to or from clients, other than loans from financial institutions under normal lending policies, are prohibited for audits of issuers and nonissuers under all ethical standards.

　　Choice "b" is incorrect. Any direct financial interest in a client impairs independence, whether the client is an issuer or a nonissuer.

　　3.Which of the following actions by a CPA most likely violates the profession\'s ethical standards?

　　a. Retaining client records after the client has demanded their return.

　　b. Arranging with a financial institution to collect notes issued by a client in payment of fees due.

　　c. Using a records-retention agency to store confidential client records.

　　d. Compiling the financial statements of a client that employed the CPA\'s spouse as a bookkeeper.

　　答案：A

　　Explanation

　　Choice "a" is correct. Failure to return records to a client after the client makes a demand is considered to be an act discreditable to the profession, and as such violates the profession’s ethical standards.

　　Choice "c" is incorrect. There is no prohibition against using a records-retention agency to store confidential client records.

　　Choice "b" is incorrect. Arranging with a financial institution to collect notes issued by a client in payment of fees due does not violate the profession’s ethical standards.

　　Choice "d" is incorrect. A compilation of financial statements does not require the auditor to be independent (although the lack of independence should be disclosed). Although this engagement poses a familiarity threat, the firm may have implemented appropriate safeguards to bring the threat to an acceptable level.