In July, 2006, a member of the audit team auditing BelhavenUniversity’s annual report was carrying his laptop while walking tohis car parked in the street. He was mugged and his wallet andlaptop was stolen. The laptop contained audit documentation withsensitive personal information about employees, including theirsocial security numbers. According to Belhaven’s president, RogerParrott, the stolen computer had “several sophisticated levels ofsecurity” and it was unlikely that the thief would be able toextract any information. (1) Do you think that the auditorsviolated GAAS by allowing the information to be stolen? Why or whynot? (2) Since a laptop might get stolen (or simply crash), whatsteps do you think an auditor should take to prevent losing theinformation in it?
