XYZ Ltd. a public limited company appointed R, a practicing professional, as an Internal Auditor of the company. During its audit procedure, he came to know some material information of the company which was revealed, du

The Auditors of a company while performing the audit assignment accesses various confidential information of the company and it is essential for the auditors to maintain the confidentiality of the auditee information. The principle of confidentiality imposes an obligation on the auditor to refrain from: Disclosing information acquired as a result of professional relationships without proper and specific authority or unless there is a legal or professional right or duty to disclose; Using information acquired as a result of professional relationships to their personal advantage or the advantage of third parties. An auditor should maintain confidentiality even in a social environment. The auditor should be alert to the possibility of inadvertent disclosure, particularly in circumstances involving long association with a business associate or a relative. He should also maintain confidentiality of information disclosed by a prospective client or employer. An auditor should also consider the need to maintain confidentiality of information within the firm or employing organization. An auditor should take all reasonable steps to ensure that staff under the auditor's control and persons from whom advice and assistance is obtained respect the auditor's duty of confidentiality.