Question Tag: Conflict of Interest

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  • 10 Marks

AAA – Nov 2024 – L3 – Q1a – Ethical Issues in Audit Engagements

Ethical issues and professional conduct in an audit engagement involving conflict of interest.

You are the Audit Partner of a mid-sized audit firm, Amoah Sonko and Associates. One of your major clients, Kudi LTD (Kudi), has approached you for a significant audit engagement. Kudi has been experiencing rapid growth and plans to get listed on the Ghana Alternative Market within the next year. During preliminary discussions, the Managing Director of Kudi, a friend, promised you a bonus if the audit report is completed quickly and is favourable, highlighting the company’s strengths.

In the course of the audit of Kudi, you came across a series of unusual financial transactions. These included large intercompany loans with its sister companies, other significant related-party transactions with the directors, and an unusually high volume of sales recorded a few days before the end of the financial year. Upon further investigation, your team found discrepancies in inventory records and evidence of potential non-compliance with revenue recognition standards. The Finance Manager insists these transactions are legitimate and necessary for the company’s rapid growth.

Additionally, you noticed that Kudi was involved in a high-profile legal battle with a major competitor, which was not fully disclosed in the financial statements. The lawyer for Kudi insists that you omit this information from the audit report, arguing it would damage the company’s reputation and its plans to get listed on the Ghana Alternative Market.

Required:
i) Identify TWO potential ethical issues in the scenario and explain the potential impact on your professional conduct.                      ii) Identify the steps you should take to address the conflict of interest presented by the Managing Director’s offer. 
iii) Discuss the potential sanctions for accepting the Managing Director’s offer and providing a favourable audit report without proper verification. 
iv) Evaluate the impact of the undisclosed legal battle on Kudi LTD’s financial statements and the upcoming initial public offer.

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  • 10 Marks

PSAF – Nov 2024 – L2 – Q2b – Related Party Transactions and Disclosures

Explains related party transactions and their implications under IPSAS 20.

You are the Director of Finance at the Ghana Water Development Authority, an entity under the Ministry of Forestry and Water. The Authority has a five-member Board chaired by the daughter of the Sector Minister. The Chief Executive Officer of the Authority has just been appointed by Government for an initial term of four years.

The Chairperson of the board runs boutique services. The Authority buys a lot of presents from this boutique whenever they are confronted with the need to give out presents to any high-profile person. The Chairperson has made a request to the Authority to finance her boutique services with an amount of GH¢546,000 to enable her business to pay some urgent bills. No terms or conditions were provided in the request. Such an assistance from a financial institution would attract the current prevailing bank interest on loans at a rate of 35% per annum. Recently, another member of the Board contracted a loan from the Bank for her child’s university entrance fees at that rate.

Management of the Authority indicated that the amount was not significant to the Authority and has been approved by the Head of the entity and the Chief Director. The approved document has been handed over to you for payment. Considering the PFM Laws and IPSAS, you engaged the Chief Director about the request, but you were directed to go ahead and pay and use the appropriate accounting treatment in such circumstances. You accordingly raised the necessary documentation and effected the payment.

Required:

In relation to IPSAS 20: Related Party Disclosures:

i) Explain the implications of this transaction on the Authority and state how you would account for this transaction in the financial statements of the entity.

ii) State SIX situations where related party transactions may lead to disclosures by a reporting entity.

iii) Explain TWO reasons for disclosing related party transactions/relations.

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  • 5 Marks

FM – Nov 2014 – L3 – SC – Q6b – Financing Decisions and Capital Markets

Examine reasons for conflict of interest between shareholders and bondholders.

Discuss any FIVE reasons why conflict of interest may exist between shareholders and bondholders. (5 Marks)

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  • 15 Marks

AAA – Nov 2013 – L3 – SB – Q1 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Evaluate whether to comply with a former executive’s request for audit services while addressing confidentiality in auditor-client relationships.

Your firm acts as the auditors and advisers to Naija Seven Limited, and to its four directors. The company is owned 50% by Praise Caro, 25% by his wife Madame, and 10% by James Patrick. Braima is the Chief Executive, and Julius is the Finance Director. Julius’ sister, Mabel Mama, recently resigned from the executive board following a disagreement with Praise. Mabel Mama formed her own company, Nigeri Heaven, in competition with Naija Seven.

Currently, Mabel is negotiating with her former co-executives on the profit-related remuneration due to her and the sale of her 15% holding of shares in Naija Seven to one or all of them.

Mabel Mama has contacted you to find out Praise Caro’s current remuneration package since he refused to disclose it to her. She has also requested that your firm should continue to act as her personal adviser, financial adviser, and auditor to Nigeri Heaven.

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  • 5 Marks

CR – May 2023 – L3 – Q6b – Ethical Issues in Corporate Reporting

Discuss the ethical implications and possible actions for alleged unethical behavior in a corporate takeover.

On your first day at Omoge Nigeria Plc as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, you were sitting in the staff canteen where you overheard a conversation between two Admin Officers. They were gossiping about Mr. Adamu Salisu, the Finance Director.

According to their conversation, Mr. Adamu Salisu may have been involved in unethical activities related to Omoge Nigeria Plc’s takeover of Bobo Limited.

Key details include:

  • Mr. Salisu’s wife, Mrs. Salisu, was a director at Bobo Limited prior to the takeover and owned 30% of its shares.
  • It is alleged that Mr. Salisu substantially overpaid for Bobo Limited and facilitated the overpayment to benefit his wife.
  • The alleged unethical act involved colluding with his wife to falsify records submitted to the accountant conducting due diligence for the takeover.
  • Mr. Salisu is reportedly not well-liked by staff, who consider him intimidating and appear pleased at the prospect of him losing his job.

Required:

Discuss the ethical implications of the above and the possible actions that may arise from the incident. (5 Marks)

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  • 20 Marks

AAA – Nov 2016 – L3 – Q2 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Discuss ethical and legal obligations of auditors regarding independence, confidentiality, money laundering, and client competition safeguards.

As an Audit Manager in a big audit firm in Nigeria, you were opportuned to attend a conference on Professional Ethics and Anti-Money Laundering in New York. On your return, one of the audit seniors went through the presentations and asked questions on some of the statements she noted in the presentations.

You are required to explain the following statements to her:

a. A good Auditor is an independent auditor. (5 Marks)
b. The Accountant’s normal professional duty of confidentiality to clients is not an adequate defence where money laundering is involved. (5 Marks)
c. Specific obligations for detecting and reporting suspicions of money laundering are placed on professional firms. (5 Marks)
d. A firm might act for two clients that are in direct competition with each other where there are acceptable safeguards. (5 Marks)

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  • 20 Marks

AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q6 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Preparation of briefing notes on audit tendering, ICAN requirements for advertising, fees, and assessment of client suitability.

Nash Investigations Limited specializes in conducting investigations for corporate clients. It employs ex-police officers, security consultants, IT, and fraud specialists. Nash Investigations recently dropped its firm of auditors and has approached your firm to participate in a tender process for selecting the new auditor. You are a manager in the audit firm and will be working with a senior auditor on this assignment. The senior auditor has never been involved in a tender process or appointment of a new auditor. You have been provided with the following information:

  1. Nash Investigations is a major service provider to your firm, particularly in the provision of IT and fraud consultancy.
  2. Nash Investigations has acrimoniously dropped their previous auditors and is withholding fees, pending the resolution of a number of issues, particularly accusations concerning the auditors’ competence.
  3. Nash Investigations is currently facing a hostile takeover bid from Technical Investigations Group, a company also audited by your firm.
  4. Media reports of a fraud allegation have been leveled against one of the directors of Nash Investigations.
  5. One of the partners in the audit firm is also a director of Nash Investigations.

Required:

Prepare briefing notes to explain the following matters to the audit senior:

a. The audit tendering process in terms of the stages that the audit firm will go through should it decide to participate in the tender.
(5 Marks)

b. The requirements of the ICAN Code of Conduct on advertising and publicity.
(5 Marks)

c. The requirements of the ICAN Code of Conduct on fees.
(5 Marks)

d. The impact of each additional piece of information provided above and how this information would influence your decision to participate in the audit tender for Nash Investigations.
(5 Marks)

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  • 1 Marks

AAA – Nov 2011 – L3 – SA – Q6 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Identifies a service inappropriate for an audit firm to provide due to independence and ethical concerns.

Which ONE of these services may not be appropriate for an audit firm?

  • A. Advising clients on corporate structures, recruitment, and other human capital needs
  • B. Giving necessary legal advice on tax returns including negotiation with the tax authorities
  • C. Acting as a receiver of the company’s operations on behalf of debenture holders and creditors of the company
  • D. Making detailed enquiries and gathering all necessary information to meet the clients’ specific needs
  • E. Advising clients on how best the business can be run and controlled including issues of accountability and management

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  • 15 Marks

FM – May 2024 – L3 – SC – Q7 – Mergers and Acquisitions

Discuss manager-shareholder conflicts with examples and reasons for synergy in mergers and acquisitions.

(a) Discuss conflict of interest that may exist between managers and shareholders and give examples. (8 Marks)

(b) Explain why synergy might exist when one company merges with or takes over another company. (7 Marks)

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  • 20 Marks

AA – Nov 2023 – L2 – Q3 – Professional Ethics and Code of Conduct for Auditors (IESBA Code)

Evaluate ethical threats due to auditor relationships and actions, and recommend mitigations for compliance.

The following scenarios may threaten compliance with fundamental principles in auditing:

i. The audit supervisor is married to the daughter of the Managing Director of the client company;

ii. The audit firm’s Senior Partner holds shares in the client company;

iii. The assurance firm also provides valuation services, internal audit services, and taxation services to an assurance client;

iv. The assurance firm earns more than 50% of its annual revenue from one assurance client; and

v. The firm obtained motor vehicle financing from a client bank for its staff.

Required:

a. Explain why compliance with fundamental principles in auditing may be threatened in each of the above FIVE circumstances. (10 Marks)

b. Explain FIVE ethical requirements that would reduce or mitigate the threats to compliance with the fundamental principles in the above FIVE circumstances. (10 Marks)

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  • 30 Marks

AA – Nov 2023 – L2 – Q1 – Professional Ethics and Code of Conduct for Auditors (IESBA Code)

Analyze ethical considerations for an auditor accepting a client, including MD's remarks on audit expectations and conflict-of-interest procedures.

Nigeria Water Resources Limited (NWR) is a limited liability company floated by the
Federal Government to control water related activities and resources. Its operations
cover surface and under water activities. The company is about three years old. As is the practice with entities having government interest, NWR wanted to change the company‟s auditors. It therefore, invited tenders for the audit assignment through a national newspaper. In order to score an advantage over other bidders, the firm of John Ibrahim and Co. (Chartered Accountants) decided to quote a seemingly unrealistic fee level in order to get the job. The Managing Director (MD) of the company did not see anything wrong with the low professional fee level since it will save costs for the company, especially that despite the clean audit report of the previous years, fraud and financial misdemeanour went undetected. The MD believed the annual statutory audit is just to “fulfil all righteousness”. John Ibrahim and Co. has been rated high since this firm
has as its client, another company in the same line of trade.

If the firm, John Ibrahim & Co., wins the bid to audit Nigeria Water Resources Limited (NWR):

a. Explain the ethical matters the firm should consider before client acceptance, at the point of engagement acceptance, and after accepting the appointment. (12 Marks)

b. Assess the remarks of the MD of NWR from the point of the expectation of the public as regards audit assignments. (8 Marks)

c. Explain the procedures the audit firm should undertake to avoid conflict of interests that could affect the judgment of the firm since John Ibrahim & Co. audits another client that is in direct competition with NWR. (6 Marks)

d. Explain the guidelines of the Institute’s Code with respect to advertisement by members. (4 Marks)

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  • 20 Marks

BMF – Nov 2020 – L1 – SB – Q4 – The Role of Professional Accountants in Business and

Explanation of ethical dilemmas, powers of professional bodies, and methods for resolving ethical dilemmas.

(a) Distinguish between ethical dilemma and conflict of interest. (4 Marks)
(b) Globally, professional bodies are backed by law, consequently, a measure of authority is conferred upon them which they regularly exercise whenever the situation or circumstance demands.
State THREE powers of a professional body. (6 Marks)
(c) State FIVE possible ways of resolving ethical dilemma in a business environment. (10 Marks)

(Total 20 Marks)

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  • 20 Marks

AA – May 2023 – L2 – SA – Q4 – Ethical Issues in Auditing

Identify threats to auditor independence, assess circumstances affecting independence, and suggest safeguards.

Cringe Professional Services has been auditing Kogberegbe Limited for about 20 years. Being a limited liability company, no regulation imposed restriction on the tenure of the auditors.

The firm also provides taxation and valuation services for the company. The company has just adopted International Financial Reporting Standards and has employed the services of Cringe Professional Services for conversion services from local GAAP. The firm experienced a high staff turnover in the year and has no choice but to include the daughter of the Managing Director of the company as part of the engagement team, although as a support staff.

Management has indicated in confidence that the audit fee for the year will not be increased, except the firm can guarantee them that no adverse management letter will be issued and no loss will be made by the company as they are planning to go to the capital market to raise capital for expansion. With poor management letter and loss position, they believe that it will be difficult to achieve this.

At the end of the audit exercise, the company made a huge profit even with unfavorable economic climate, thanks to challenges associated with COVID-19. There was public outcry because it was believed that the financial statements of the company were misstated, and the auditor was accused of negligence. This necessitated the Financial Reporting Council to conduct an investigation on the company. It was found that the company restructured its debt portfolio, which was denominated in foreign currency with attendant foreign exchange risks to Naira.

The company restructured a huge intercompany loan to a 7-year principal payment holiday with principal repayment commencing September 30, 2025. The interest on the loan for the period was not brought into the books of account.

The company accrued for a NGN70.60m benefit from a transaction in 2019 from operating fees. This has been treated as income in the financial statements.

There were identified defaults by the company in relation to the payment of interests and principal on its outstanding loans and borrowings.

There were adverse ratios in the company’s financial performance ratios in the year due to interest on borrowings from financial institutions and related parties.

A revisit of the operating performance for the year revealed the following:

  • The entity made an operating loss of N1.22 billion.
  • It generated negative operating cashflows of N2.15 billion.
  • There was positive working capital as the current assets exceeded the current liabilities by N1.2 billion in the year.
  • The net assets position of the company was in the negative as the total liabilities exceeded the total assets by N9.8 billion.

The Financial Reporting Council concluded that there were threats to the auditors’ independence, hence the professional firm was penalized for that.

A concerned staff of the company asks you of the implications of the issues raised by the Financial Reporting Council.

Required:

a. Identify and explain the threats to independence of the auditor in the above scenario. (7 Marks)

b. Discuss circumstances that could give rise to threats to independence. (7 Marks)

c. Suggest appropriate safeguards which could be put in place to mitigate the identified threats. (6 Marks)

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  • 1 Marks

TAX – May 2021 – L1 – SA – Q6 – Ethical Issues in Tax Practice

Objective question about when a tax practitioner might face a conflict of interest in a professional activity.

When undertaking a professional activity, a tax practitioner may be faced with a conflict of interest when he:
A. Undertakes a professional service for a group of companies as per his brief
B. Undertakes a professional service for a new client
C. Undertakes a professional activity relating to a particular matter for two or more clients whose interests with respect to that matter are in conflict
D. Refuses to undertake a professional activity relating to a particular matter for two or more clients whose interests with respect to that matter are in conflict
E. Undertakes a professional activity relating to separate and distinct services for two different clients

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  • 5 Marks

CR – May 2020 – Q3b(ii) – Ethical Actions in Contract Bidding

This question requires recommendations for maintaining ethical standards in a contract bidding situation involving a conflict of interest.

Recommend the possible courses of action that you will take in order to be ethically responsible as expected from a Professional Accountant.

 

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  • 5 Marks

CR – May 2020 – Q3b(i) – Ethical Issues in Contract Bidding

This question requires a discussion on the ethical issues related to conflict of interest, confidentiality, and professional behavior in a contract bidding scenario.

You have just obtained your full membership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana). Following this successful achievement, you have been appointed as the Head of Finance at Asasiyemedeh Company Limited, a Ghanaian company, which provides catering services. Your former employer, Akwaba Limited, is a large public sector organization operating in Accra, where, as the Financial Accountant, you had the opportunity to work on areas relating to financial accounting, procurement, contracts, and bids. One of Asasiyemedeh Company Limited’s major contracts is with Akwaba Limited, your former employer. The contract is now due for renewal, and Asasiyemedeh Company Limited is preparing a competitive bid for this contract.

You have been tasked to lead the team responsible for bidding for this contract, but you are concerned as a professional that you might breach confidentiality if you accept this role. You also suspect that your knowledge and experience of Akwaba Limited were seen as good reasons for appointing you to the position of Head of Finance at Asasiyemedeh Company Limited. You do not in any way want to let your new employer down as you are aware that the loss of such a major contract would have a significant effect on the financial performance of Asasiyemedeh Company Limited, and its performance-related bonus scheme for management members.

Required:
Discuss the ethical issues raised in the above scenario.

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  • 10 Marks

CR – May 2021 – L3 – Q3c – Ethical Dilemmas and Actions for a Finance Director

Discuss the ethical dilemmas and potential actions a finance director must take to avoid breaching IFAC's Code of Ethics.

You are the Finance Director of a limited liability company. The company started trading with a handful of employees but now has a workforce of 200. You are aware that staff purchases of goods manufactured by the company are authorised by production managers and then processed outside the accounting system. The proceeds from these sales are used to fund the company’s annual Christmas party, organised for Directors of the company.

Required:
Discuss the possible actions that you will take in order not to breach the fundamental principles of the IFAC’s Code of Ethics. (10 marks)

 

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  • 9 Marks

BL – Nov 2014 – L1 – SB – Q3a – Company Law

State distinctions between a limited liability company and a partnership, and explain a director’s duty regarding conflicts of interest.

a. Limited liability companies and partnerships are different in formation and characteristics.
You are required to:

i. State any FIVE distinctions between a limited liability company and a partnership.
(5 Marks)

ii. Explain briefly the duty that a director’s interest shall not conflict with his duties to the company and its consequences.
(4 Marks)

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Has Case Study
  • 10 Marks

SCS – Apr 2022 – L3 – Q7 – Professional practice and codes of ethics

Discuss key governance issues based on Ghana’s Code of Best Practices considering the Board Chairman’s intentions.

In reference to Ghana’s Code of Best Practices in Corporate Governance, discuss FOUR (4) key issues that could determine how well or badly HPC is governed, taking into consideration the intention and business relationship of the Board Chairman. (10 marks)

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  • 10 Marks

BL – May 2022 – L1 – SB – Q6a – Business Ethics and Corporate Governance

Advise ABC Limited on the implication of two former directors executing a profitable contract on behalf of their own company.

Two of the directors of ABC Limited negotiated a road construction contract on behalf of the company. The company decided not to go ahead with the contract because it intends to start oil refining at the time. Considering that the road construction contract is profitable, the two directors resigned as directors of ABC Limited and established their own construction company, named Two Limited, which executed the contract at a good profit.

ABC Limited is aware of the situation and has approached you for advice.

Required:
Advise ABC Limited on the implication of the action of its former two directors.

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