Auditing and Assurance Services 9th Edition by Alvin Arens,Mark Beasley,Randy Elder

Exercise 34

While completing a test of controls, you appropriately cleared two minor exceptions by examining related documents. The entity will need to do some serious digging to find the documents to resolve a third, similar, exception and wants to know if you really need the documents. You ask the in-charge senior, and he decides it was probably not a serious potential problem and tells you to sign off to clear the third exception without examining the underlying documents.
Required:
1. Analyze this situation with its possible outcomes using
a. The utilitarian theory.
b. The rights-based approach.
c. The justice-based approach.
2. Which approach do you feel is most appropriate in this situation, and why?