[Anonymous]

Which of the following parties should request inquiry of a client’s lawyer?

A.The auditor

B.The stockholders

C.Client management

D.The auditor’s attorney

Answer C

---

While I understand the auditor has to get management’s permission to communicate with the client’s lawyer, doesn’t the auditor asking management to communicate with the lawyer the very definition of “request inquiry of a client’s lawyer”?

[sdguy]

My understanding, due to attorney client privilege, only the client can request it directly. An attorney can't respond to a request from anyone else. However, client management is supposed to request the attorney respond directly to the auditor, and not back to the client.

AUD: 83
FAR: 77
REG: 86
BEC: 86

[benboccio]

The auditor should draft “a letter of inquiry” for management to send to those lawyers who have rendered litigation-related services to the entity.

[Anonymous]

The letter of inquiry says that our auditors need this info blah blah blah. Same with confirms. Always comes from management but the auditor is the one sending it out… Hopefully this makes sense.

[Substantive Testing]

Lets also look at it this way, if auditors were to be able to request information directly with legal, then somebody else could pretend to be an auditor and request for private information. This not only applies to legal, but to all letter of confirmation as well. Letter must be typed and signed by client and sometimes the auditor/sometimes the client is the one who sends it out.

[Author]

Replies