Reference no: EM131671479

Question - Harry and Andrew are two audit seniors working for Adam and Associates, a large audit firm. Harry is married with a young child and a large mortgage. Andrew is single and still lives with his parents. They both have been seniors for two years and are looking for promotion to audit supervisor, but both are aware that only one position is available.

Harry recently replaced Andrew on the audit of Canning Ltd, and the reason given to both Harry and Andrew was that another assignment had arisen with one of Andrew's other long-time clients. Once Harry replaced Andrew, he realised that the accountant at Canning Ltd called the audit manager to say that they were not impressed with Andrew, as he had missed a number of issues within the audit and was arriving at work late. The audit manager had not discussed these comments with either Harry or Andrew. After going through the work that Andrew had completed, Harry realised that Andrew had performed an excellent job, identifying a number of issues that he thought he might possibly have missed. Furthermore, Harry suspects that Andrew and the accountant had a personality conflict, and that the accountant misled the audit manager. Harry realises that he can finish off the audit, resolve the issues and obtain a good review for this assignment, which would help him in the promotion stakes. He also knows that the audit manager is unlikely to bring the client's unsupported allegations to Andrew's attention.

Using the AAA model, identify and discuss the ethical issues involved, and describe what action should you take.