Wirecard’s auditors are being faced with legal action after the collapse of the scandal-hit German payments firm: Audit & Assurance Assignment, NTU, Singapore

Task – A critique of the response from ChatGPT
1) Read the following extract of an article adapted from: Browne, R., 2020. ‘Wirecard auditors face legal action after collapse of scandal-hit payments firm’. Available from: httos://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/wirecard-investor group-files- criminal-come laint-against-e /-auditors.html

Wirecard’s auditors are being faced with legal action after the collapse of the scandal-hit German payments firm. The German shareholders’ association SdK said Friday that it had filed a criminal complaint against auditors at Ernst & Young (EY).

The accountancy firm, EY last week refused to sign off Wirecard’s 2019 books after discovering 1.9 billion euros (US$2.1 billion) of cash had gone missing from its balance sheet. Munich-based Wirecard filed for insolvency on Thursday, marking a tumultuous fall for the group. Wirecard, which is still listed on the DAX 30, has seen its share price capitulate since the accounting black hole was revealed last week.

EY told CNBC late Thursday that there were “clear indications that this was an elaborate and sophisticated fraud, involving multiple parties around the world in different institutions, with a deliberate aim of deception.” In attempt to defend its reputation, the group added that “even the most robust and extended audit procedures” couldn’t uncover what it called a “collusive fraud.”

2) ChatGPT has been prompted the following question:
‘in the context of Wirecard, identify and explain the threats to independence faced by the auditors of Wirecard which might have impaired their objectivity and professional scepticism, resulting in the audit failure. ‘