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ACCA Strategic Professional · Advanced Audit and Assurance (International) · Advertising, tendering, and obtaining professional work and fees

Keswick & Partners wants to say in a tender document, 'We are the only firm with the expertise to audit listed retailers.' The firm has audited two listed retailers. What is the most appropriate response from the ethics partner?

The ethics partner should reject the claim and require factual wording, such as stating the two listed retailers audited. The 'only firm' assertion is unsupported and implies other firms are incompetent, which is misleading and disparaging. Placement in small print or rewording to criticise competitors does not make it acceptable.

  1. APermit it, since the firm has relevant experience
  2. BPermit it if the sentence is moved into the small print
  3. CReject it and require factual wording about the firm's actual experience, such as the two listed retail auditsCorrect
  4. DReplace it with a statement that competitors lack the necessary expertise

Explanation

The claim is an unsupported superlative implying competitors are incapable, which is not honest or verifiable. Factual statements about actual experience are acceptable. Moving it to small print does not cure the misleading content, and criticising competitors is itself disparaging.

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