Question 10
During a post-incident audit at a retail marketplace, the IS auditor learns that the audit manager removes an exception following pressure from the audited executive. The affected operation supports customer checkout and order fulfillment. Customer transactions and market trust depend on effective control. Which consequence would MOST directly follow if this weakness remains unresolved?
Explanation
Correct Answer
Correct. Audit conclusions may lack objectivity when independence is impaired by self-review, incentives or undisclosed conflicts. The described exception is: the audit manager removes an exception following pressure from the audited executive. This risk ties the observation to the business significance of customer checkout and order fulfillment, rather than treating management's claim as independent assurance.
Incorrect Answers
Biased or incomplete samples can produce unsupported conclusions about how a control operates across the actual population. It changes a different feature than audit independence and objective reviewer judgment.
Audit resources may fail to address the systems and exposures most material to organizational objectives. The configuration must instead establish audit independence and objective reviewer judgment.
Controls may not address the intended risk at the correct point because their preventive, detective or corrective roles are misunderstood. The audit independence and objective reviewer judgment prerequisite remains unaddressed.