Topic: Professional responsibility and liability

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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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AAA – July 2023 – L3 – Q4a – The meaning of audit and assurance | Professional responsibility and liability

Discuss issues to consider in professional skepticism assessment and circumstances that can hinder professional skepticism during a performance audit.

Audit engagement rests on mutual understanding and respect between the auditor and the auditee. The Auditor, while not viewing the auditee as dishonest, must also have at the back of his mind that to err is human and must therefore not accept evidence from the auditee without further cross-checking the facts. The attitude should be that the auditor must have an enquiring mind. This is known as professional skepticism; while trusting, he must verify.

Required:

i) What FOUR (4) issues should be considered in Professional Skepticism assessment during performance audit? (5 marks)

ii) State FIVE (5) circumstances that can hinder Professional Skepticism at the engagement level. (5 marks)

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AAA – July 2023 – L3 – Q1b – Rules of professional conduct | Professional responsibility and liability | Reporting

Assess ethical and professional implications in scenarios involving audit team members and client requests.

You are the Audit Manager at Ndaa & Associates whose client portfolio includes ABC Credit Plc, a listed financial institution offering loans and credit facilities to both commercial and retail customers. You have received an email from the Audit Supervisor who is currently supervising interim testing on systems and controls in relation to the audit of ABC Credit Plc for the year ending 31 October 2022. The email gives the following details for your consideration:

  1. One of the audit team members, Obiba JK, has provisionally agreed to apply for a loan from ABC Credit Plc to finance the purchase of a domestic residence. The loan will be secured on a property, and the client’s business manager has promised Obiba JK that he will ensure that she gets ‘the very best deal which the bank can offer.’ (5 marks)
  2. The payroll manager at ABC Credit Plc has asked the audit supervisor if it would be possible for Ndaa & Associates to provide a member of staff on secondment to work in the payroll department. The payroll manager has struggled to recruit a new supervisor for the organisation’s main payroll system and wants to assign a qualified member of the audit firm’s staff for an initial period of six months. (5 marks)

Required:
Assess the ethical and professional implications of the issues raised in respect of the audit of ABC Credit Plc and recommend actions to be taken in each case by the audit firm.

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AAA – Dec 2023 – L3 – Q1a – The Meaning of Audit and Assurance | Professional Responsibility and Liability

Explain the concept of professional skepticism and identify areas where it is important in auditing complex, subjective, or judgmental issues.

“Professional Skepticism is an essential concept in auditing practice and theory. It has been identified in almost all existing auditing standards. However, the way it should be characterised is still unclear” according to Maciej Ciolek (2017).

Required:

i) Explain the term Professional Skepticism within the context of the auditing profession. (2.5 marks)

ii) Discuss THREE (3) areas of audit that are complex, subjective or highly judgmental where Professional Skepticism may be important. (7.5 marks)

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AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q5a – The Regulatory Environment | Professional Responsibility and Liability

Identify and discuss the roles of three regulatory authorities in Ghana that may impact the conduct of an audit.

In the audit of financial statements, auditors consider the regulatory requirements. These cover professional standards promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in the form of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), International Standards on Quality Control (ISQC) as well as the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). The other consideration involves legal requirements.

Required:
Identify THREE (3) regulatory authorities in Ghana whose requirements may be taken into account in the conduct of an audit and discuss their roles. (10 marks)

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AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q1b – The audit approach | Practice management | Professional responsibility and liability

Evaluate five risk considerations and issues before accepting an engagement from Phobia Foods Ltd, focusing on financial position, client expectations, and fee structure.

You have been recently promoted as the Ethics Partner in Famous Chartered Accountants, a licensed audit firm. At your first visit to the Managing Partner, he informs you of an appointment by Phobia Foods Ltd (PFL), and gives you a file to go through. You open the file and find a copy of an e-mail from the Managing Director of PFL, extracts which read as follows:

From: Managing Director, Phobia Foods Ltd.
To: Managing Partner, Famous Chartered Accountants
Subject: Evaluation of Business Expansion Plan and Associated Items

Congratulations on your offer of appointment as auditor cum advisor of our company. As discussed in our earlier meeting, Phobia Foods Ltd (PFL) would like to open three more outlets, two in Sunyani and one in Sogakope. The necessary financing will be obtained through a new bank loan and the rescheduling of the payments of the existing loan, which is technically in default.

Your appointment and fees
Your audit fee will be GH¢16,000 for the year ended 30 June 2018.Your fee for evaluation of our expansion plan and advisory services in relation to obtaining a bank loan will be GH¢9,000. For advisory services and business efficiency and strategic decisions, your fee will be GH¢3,400 per month for the next two years.

Shareholders and key management issues
Five founding directors, each with equal shares, incorporated PFL which commenced trading in 2009. I still maintain my original 20% holding.

Audit and accounts 2016-2018
Ofosu-Mensah & Associates., a firm of licensed auditors audited the accounts for the years ended 30 June 2016 to 30 June 2018 inclusive. The audit of PFL for the year ended 30 June 2018 was signed off on 16 November 2018 with an unqualified opinion, notwithstanding that qualified opinions had been published on the previous two years’ accounts. The shareholders of PFL approved your firm’s appointment at the annual general meeting held on 15 April 2019 for the year ended 30 June 2019.

The funds raised by the new bank loan will be used for expansion of the business. Your firm is also expected to advise the company on the application for the new bank loan and the rescheduling of repayments of the existing loan in default.

Yours sincerely,
Managing Director.

Required:

Evaluate FIVE (5) risk considerations and issues for Famous Chartered Accountants that should be identified prior to accepting this engagement. (10 marks)

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AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q1a – Rules of professional conduct | Professional responsibility and liability

Evaluate ethical issues in providing audit and advisory services, and assess auditor liability to a bank if the audit is negligently performed.

You are an audit manager with AA & Co. Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants. You have been assigned to the audit of Western Decors Ltd (WD), a long-established firm of event planning service in the city where your practice is located. The audit of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019 is due to commence shortly. The audit firm is aware that the client has received a loan from the bank in April 2018 and that the bank will rely on the audited financial statements as part of the terms and conditions in the loan agreement.

The partner in charge of AA & Co. has just visited the client and made the following notes during his trip:

  • The firm has a number of individual and corporate clients outside Accra and has invested heavily in recording and broadcasting equipment to allow some events to be broadcasted over the internet. This facility is now available at all events conducted in WD’s premises and is proving to be very popular. To date, no specific extra charge has been levied for this service but the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WD has asked us to prepare a report for him advising on whether it would be practical to charge separately for it; and, if so, the level at which the charge should be set.
  • Unfortunately, WD’s main supplier of chairs went into liquidation during the year. The Partner said that they were fortunate to be able to find an alternative supplier with whom they entered into a three-year contract for the supply of chairs. At the time of signing the contract, WD considered the contract to be on very favourable terms. However, the supplier is based in Nigeria and the contract was denominated in Naira. Movements in the exchange rate now make the contract look far less attractive and the CEO has requested that we examine the contract to see if there is any way he can legally set it aside.

Required:

i) Critically evaluate any possible ethical issues arising from the client’s requests. (4 marks)

ii) Discuss whether the auditors may be liable to the bank in case the audit was negligently done. (6 marks)

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AAA – May 2021 – L3 – Q5a – Current issues | Professional responsibility and liability

Assess the global threat of money laundering and discuss Ghana’s efforts to combat money laundering.

a) Money laundering has become a significant threat to the world’s political and economic order. World leaders are collaborating and cooperating in fighting money laundering. However, criminals are maliciously clever and, in some cases, ahead of law enforcement agencies. Every human being has to contribute to the fight against money laundering.

Required:

i) Assess why money laundering poses a big threat to the world’s political and economic order. (5 marks)

ii) Discuss FIVE (5) ways in which Ghana is contributing towards fighting money laundering globally. (5 marks)

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AAA – May 2021 – L3 – Q1a – Rules of professional conduct | Professional responsibility and liability

Discuss the impact of independence issues on the public perception of a multinational accounting firm based on a real-life scenario involving a conflict of interest.

Fundamental principles require that a member of a professional accountancy body behave with integrity in all professional, business, and financial relationships and strive for objectivity in all professional and business judgments. Objectivity can only be assured if the member is and is seen to be independent. Conflicts of interest have an essential bearing on independence and the public’s perception of the accounting profession’s integrity, objectivity, and independence.

The following scenario is a press report on a multinational firm of accountants:

The regulatory body directed a partner in a firm that he must resign because he was in breach of the regulatory body’s independence rules. His brother-in-law was the Financial Controller of an audit client. He was informed that the alternative was for him to move his home and place of work at least 400 miles from the client’s office, even though he was not the reporting partner. This made his job untenable. The accounting firm saw the regulatory body as ‘taking its rules to absurd lengths’. Shortly after this comment, the multinational firm announced proposals to split the firm into the following areas: audit, tax and business advisory services; management consultancy; and investment advisory services.

Required:

In relation to integrity, objectivity and independence, discuss the impact the above events may have on the public perception of the multinational firm of accountants. (10 marks)

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AAA – May 2017 – L3 – Q4b – Internal audit and outsourcing | Professional responsibility and liability

Assess the importance of recommendations by the IIA to ensure the independence of internal auditors within an organization.

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) defines Internal Auditing as:

“An independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization to accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.”

Required:

Assess the importance of THREE recommendations the IIA has made to ensure that internal auditors remain independent even though they are employees of the company. (4 marks)

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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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AAA – July 2023 – L3 – Q4a – The meaning of audit and assurance | Professional responsibility and liability

Discuss issues to consider in professional skepticism assessment and circumstances that can hinder professional skepticism during a performance audit.

Audit engagement rests on mutual understanding and respect between the auditor and the auditee. The Auditor, while not viewing the auditee as dishonest, must also have at the back of his mind that to err is human and must therefore not accept evidence from the auditee without further cross-checking the facts. The attitude should be that the auditor must have an enquiring mind. This is known as professional skepticism; while trusting, he must verify.

Required:

i) What FOUR (4) issues should be considered in Professional Skepticism assessment during performance audit? (5 marks)

ii) State FIVE (5) circumstances that can hinder Professional Skepticism at the engagement level. (5 marks)

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AAA – July 2023 – L3 – Q1b – Rules of professional conduct | Professional responsibility and liability | Reporting

Assess ethical and professional implications in scenarios involving audit team members and client requests.

You are the Audit Manager at Ndaa & Associates whose client portfolio includes ABC Credit Plc, a listed financial institution offering loans and credit facilities to both commercial and retail customers. You have received an email from the Audit Supervisor who is currently supervising interim testing on systems and controls in relation to the audit of ABC Credit Plc for the year ending 31 October 2022. The email gives the following details for your consideration:

  1. One of the audit team members, Obiba JK, has provisionally agreed to apply for a loan from ABC Credit Plc to finance the purchase of a domestic residence. The loan will be secured on a property, and the client’s business manager has promised Obiba JK that he will ensure that she gets ‘the very best deal which the bank can offer.’ (5 marks)
  2. The payroll manager at ABC Credit Plc has asked the audit supervisor if it would be possible for Ndaa & Associates to provide a member of staff on secondment to work in the payroll department. The payroll manager has struggled to recruit a new supervisor for the organisation’s main payroll system and wants to assign a qualified member of the audit firm’s staff for an initial period of six months. (5 marks)

Required:
Assess the ethical and professional implications of the issues raised in respect of the audit of ABC Credit Plc and recommend actions to be taken in each case by the audit firm.

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AAA – Dec 2023 – L3 – Q1a – The Meaning of Audit and Assurance | Professional Responsibility and Liability

Explain the concept of professional skepticism and identify areas where it is important in auditing complex, subjective, or judgmental issues.

“Professional Skepticism is an essential concept in auditing practice and theory. It has been identified in almost all existing auditing standards. However, the way it should be characterised is still unclear” according to Maciej Ciolek (2017).

Required:

i) Explain the term Professional Skepticism within the context of the auditing profession. (2.5 marks)

ii) Discuss THREE (3) areas of audit that are complex, subjective or highly judgmental where Professional Skepticism may be important. (7.5 marks)

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AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q5a – The Regulatory Environment | Professional Responsibility and Liability

Identify and discuss the roles of three regulatory authorities in Ghana that may impact the conduct of an audit.

In the audit of financial statements, auditors consider the regulatory requirements. These cover professional standards promulgated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in the form of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), International Standards on Quality Control (ISQC) as well as the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). The other consideration involves legal requirements.

Required:
Identify THREE (3) regulatory authorities in Ghana whose requirements may be taken into account in the conduct of an audit and discuss their roles. (10 marks)

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AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q1b – The audit approach | Practice management | Professional responsibility and liability

Evaluate five risk considerations and issues before accepting an engagement from Phobia Foods Ltd, focusing on financial position, client expectations, and fee structure.

You have been recently promoted as the Ethics Partner in Famous Chartered Accountants, a licensed audit firm. At your first visit to the Managing Partner, he informs you of an appointment by Phobia Foods Ltd (PFL), and gives you a file to go through. You open the file and find a copy of an e-mail from the Managing Director of PFL, extracts which read as follows:

From: Managing Director, Phobia Foods Ltd.
To: Managing Partner, Famous Chartered Accountants
Subject: Evaluation of Business Expansion Plan and Associated Items

Congratulations on your offer of appointment as auditor cum advisor of our company. As discussed in our earlier meeting, Phobia Foods Ltd (PFL) would like to open three more outlets, two in Sunyani and one in Sogakope. The necessary financing will be obtained through a new bank loan and the rescheduling of the payments of the existing loan, which is technically in default.

Your appointment and fees
Your audit fee will be GH¢16,000 for the year ended 30 June 2018.Your fee for evaluation of our expansion plan and advisory services in relation to obtaining a bank loan will be GH¢9,000. For advisory services and business efficiency and strategic decisions, your fee will be GH¢3,400 per month for the next two years.

Shareholders and key management issues
Five founding directors, each with equal shares, incorporated PFL which commenced trading in 2009. I still maintain my original 20% holding.

Audit and accounts 2016-2018
Ofosu-Mensah & Associates., a firm of licensed auditors audited the accounts for the years ended 30 June 2016 to 30 June 2018 inclusive. The audit of PFL for the year ended 30 June 2018 was signed off on 16 November 2018 with an unqualified opinion, notwithstanding that qualified opinions had been published on the previous two years’ accounts. The shareholders of PFL approved your firm’s appointment at the annual general meeting held on 15 April 2019 for the year ended 30 June 2019.

The funds raised by the new bank loan will be used for expansion of the business. Your firm is also expected to advise the company on the application for the new bank loan and the rescheduling of repayments of the existing loan in default.

Yours sincerely,
Managing Director.

Required:

Evaluate FIVE (5) risk considerations and issues for Famous Chartered Accountants that should be identified prior to accepting this engagement. (10 marks)

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AAA – Nov 2020 – L3 – Q1a – Rules of professional conduct | Professional responsibility and liability

Evaluate ethical issues in providing audit and advisory services, and assess auditor liability to a bank if the audit is negligently performed.

You are an audit manager with AA & Co. Chartered Accountants and Business Consultants. You have been assigned to the audit of Western Decors Ltd (WD), a long-established firm of event planning service in the city where your practice is located. The audit of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2019 is due to commence shortly. The audit firm is aware that the client has received a loan from the bank in April 2018 and that the bank will rely on the audited financial statements as part of the terms and conditions in the loan agreement.

The partner in charge of AA & Co. has just visited the client and made the following notes during his trip:

  • The firm has a number of individual and corporate clients outside Accra and has invested heavily in recording and broadcasting equipment to allow some events to be broadcasted over the internet. This facility is now available at all events conducted in WD’s premises and is proving to be very popular. To date, no specific extra charge has been levied for this service but the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WD has asked us to prepare a report for him advising on whether it would be practical to charge separately for it; and, if so, the level at which the charge should be set.
  • Unfortunately, WD’s main supplier of chairs went into liquidation during the year. The Partner said that they were fortunate to be able to find an alternative supplier with whom they entered into a three-year contract for the supply of chairs. At the time of signing the contract, WD considered the contract to be on very favourable terms. However, the supplier is based in Nigeria and the contract was denominated in Naira. Movements in the exchange rate now make the contract look far less attractive and the CEO has requested that we examine the contract to see if there is any way he can legally set it aside.

Required:

i) Critically evaluate any possible ethical issues arising from the client’s requests. (4 marks)

ii) Discuss whether the auditors may be liable to the bank in case the audit was negligently done. (6 marks)

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AAA – May 2021 – L3 – Q5a – Current issues | Professional responsibility and liability

Assess the global threat of money laundering and discuss Ghana’s efforts to combat money laundering.

a) Money laundering has become a significant threat to the world’s political and economic order. World leaders are collaborating and cooperating in fighting money laundering. However, criminals are maliciously clever and, in some cases, ahead of law enforcement agencies. Every human being has to contribute to the fight against money laundering.

Required:

i) Assess why money laundering poses a big threat to the world’s political and economic order. (5 marks)

ii) Discuss FIVE (5) ways in which Ghana is contributing towards fighting money laundering globally. (5 marks)

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AAA – May 2021 – L3 – Q1a – Rules of professional conduct | Professional responsibility and liability

Discuss the impact of independence issues on the public perception of a multinational accounting firm based on a real-life scenario involving a conflict of interest.

Fundamental principles require that a member of a professional accountancy body behave with integrity in all professional, business, and financial relationships and strive for objectivity in all professional and business judgments. Objectivity can only be assured if the member is and is seen to be independent. Conflicts of interest have an essential bearing on independence and the public’s perception of the accounting profession’s integrity, objectivity, and independence.

The following scenario is a press report on a multinational firm of accountants:

The regulatory body directed a partner in a firm that he must resign because he was in breach of the regulatory body’s independence rules. His brother-in-law was the Financial Controller of an audit client. He was informed that the alternative was for him to move his home and place of work at least 400 miles from the client’s office, even though he was not the reporting partner. This made his job untenable. The accounting firm saw the regulatory body as ‘taking its rules to absurd lengths’. Shortly after this comment, the multinational firm announced proposals to split the firm into the following areas: audit, tax and business advisory services; management consultancy; and investment advisory services.

Required:

In relation to integrity, objectivity and independence, discuss the impact the above events may have on the public perception of the multinational firm of accountants. (10 marks)

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AAA – May 2017 – L3 – Q4b – Internal audit and outsourcing | Professional responsibility and liability

Assess the importance of recommendations by the IIA to ensure the independence of internal auditors within an organization.

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) defines Internal Auditing as:

“An independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization to accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.”

Required:

Assess the importance of THREE recommendations the IIA has made to ensure that internal auditors remain independent even though they are employees of the company. (4 marks)

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