Briefly discuss the main purposes for an interview in context of an Audit. Can an interview have all those purposes at the same time. The interview techniques can be gainfully used in a structured or unstructured manner

The main purposes for an interview in context of an audit are orientation, examination and confirmation. An interview can have one or two of these purposes, but normally not all three at the same time. Orientation is normally part of the audit team's learning process during the planning phase. It aims at exploring and giving an overview of a specific area or function, e.g., by asking for presentations of activities, explanations of formal or informal networks or interpretation of documents (reports, instructions or, budgets). The objective could be to identify possible audit subjects or to find out about other available sources of information, such as key persons or documentation. Examination aims at more specific issues with a view to establishing new information, often to be used as audit evidence. In some cases, such information has not been previously recorded at all but is embodied in the interviewee through personal experiences, particular references, opinions, etc. In other cases, the knowledge can be retrieved for example by (joint) interpretation of internal documents, reports or records. It should be noted that evidence obtained from interviews often needs to be corroborated, i.e. supported by evidence from other data collection methods. Confirmation , finally, often goes together with either orientation or examination, but deserves to be mentioned as a separate purpose because of its fundamental importance. Confirmation, by definition, is typically based on information that has already been gathered. However, in this context the information can also be gathered and confirmed simultaneously. The interview techniques can be gainfully used in a structured or unstructured manner to elicit information form the entity both in the planning as well as execution phase. The Auditor can use the interview mode to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information. The aim in the planning phase is to develop a comprehensive and correct understanding of the audited activity or the auditee's business in order to facilitate the identification of significant audit issues, there is therefore a need to get orientation as well as confirmation. An interview can very well be justified by a combination of these purposes. Orientation requires a more unstructured approach, with the auditor having maximum flexibility where necessary to explore themes that have not previously been considered and to deeply probe the responses that are given. In this phase, the auditor generally does not have a prior hypotheses or deep knowledge of the project or activity. Confirmation, on the other hand, needs a fairly structured approach in order to have important facts and conditions verified. In the execution phase of the audit, when the objective is often a more focused examination of an area, in order to capture simple, factual data, to document or clarify certain points or to test hypotheses, interviews will typically have a more structured form. The aim is often to obtain evidence (documents, opinions and ideas) that relate to the audit's objectives, to confirm facts and to collaborate data from other sources. The auditor should have a firm grasp of the issues he wants to cover and should know in advance what type of data he wants.