Question

The audit committee has asked the chief audit executive (CAE) to conduct an ad hoc forensic investigation of the purchasing department within a month due to the significance and urgency of a recently discovered risk The internal audit activity currently has no available staff with relevant experience or qualifications Which of the following is the CAE's best option for fulfilling the internal audit activity's responsibilities in this case?

(A). Outsource the investigation to independent professional consultants
(B). Select certain internal auditors and remove them from their current assignments so that they can begin a forensic investigation course
(C). Recruit additional internal auditors possessing relevant qualification and experience
(D). Decline the engagement at this time

Answer 1

The best option for the CAE to conduct the urgent forensic investigation is to outsource the investigation to independent professional consultants.

Step-by-step explanation:

The chief audit executive's best option for conducting an ad hoc forensic investigation of the purchasing department is (A). Outsource the investigation to independent professional consultants. Given the significance, urgency, and the lack of available staff with relevant experience, outsourcing to qualified professionals ensures that the investigation is conducted effectively and within the required time frame.

Option B is not viable due to the time-sensitive nature of the engagement, as training internal auditors would take too much time. Recruiting additional staff with the required skills (Option C) may also be time-consuming and there's no guarantee that new hires could be made quickly enough to meet the deadline. Option D, declining the engagement, is not advisable because it fails to address the immediate risk identified by the audit committee.