Final answer:
A confirmation is used by auditors to corroborate information orally given by clients through a direct written response from a third party, providing reliable evidence for the audit.
Step-by-step explanation:
The form of communication used by auditors to corroborate information received orally from the client during an audit examination is a confirmation. A confirmation is a specific type of audit evidence obtained as a direct written response from a third party (either in paper form or electronically) verifying the accuracy of information that was requested by the auditor. In contrast, an inquiry is a process where auditors ask questions and receive oral responses from the client or other parties, observation refers to the auditor's process of watching a process or procedure being performed by others, and inspection involves examining records, documents, or tangible assets.
Confirmation procedures are often used to verify account balances and other financial information with external entities like banks or customers holding the client's debt. This is especially useful for auditors in validating receivables, payables, bank balances, and other types of verifiable financial data. Confirmations are viewed as highly reliable audit evidence because they are received directly from third parties and can provide a high level of assurance regarding the information auditors seek to verify.