Jacques, an internal auditor, and Brenna, the company’s travel and expense manager, have had several...

The Fraud Risk Assessment chapter stresses that the people leading and conducting the assessment must be independent and objective. The manual specifically warns that personal experiences or biases can affect the evaluation of fraud risk in a business area. It gives an example that if someone on the team had a bad experience with a person in a department, that experience might improperly influence the assessment, and in that situation someone else should perform the work related to that department. This guidance directly applies here. Because Jacques has had repeated disagreements with Brenna, his objectivity regarding the travel and expense function could reasonably be questioned. To preserve the integrity and neutrality of the fraud risk assessment, he should request that someone else handle that area.