When conducting research, which of the following is most important?

An internal audit activity is participating in the due diligence work for an acquisition that a company is considering. One engagement objective is to determine if the acquisition's accounts payable contain all outstanding liabilities. Which of the following audit procedures would not be relevant for this objective?

During an audit of an ethics program, which of the following procedures are most appropriate to evaluate the effectiveness of the program?
* Testing whether corrective actions taken on involved parties breaching the ethics program are adequate.
* Testing whether all employees are mandated through policy to comply with the ethics program.
* Testing whether all employees are required to confirm in writing their compliance with the ethics program.
* Testing through surveys employee's level of understanding and commitment to the ethics program.

Which of the following situations would best support the decision of a chief audit executive (CAE) to defer follow-up activity at a branch office until the next audit engagement?

The chief audit executive (CAE) notes during review of the final report of an assurance engagement that management has decided to accept the risks of two significant exposures identified by the audit. Which of the following actions by the CAE would be least prudent in these circumstances?