ABSTRACT
This study examines the professional ethics as safeguard against auditors liability, with a viewto defining rules capable of facilitating the performance of auditors. The main objective of this research work is to determine the professional and ethical issues in audit assurance engagement. Specifically, the study will in more specific term attain the following objectives: to determine whether ethical issues in auditor affect the quality assurance of audit; to ascertain the extent professional ethics affect auditing standards and to evaluate if theamount of audit fee paid by client influence the auditor’s professional ethics. Research questionsand hypotheses were formulated in line with the objectives of the study. Survey research designwas adopted. Data were obtained from questionnaires and analyzed with five point likert’s scale and the three hypotheses formulated were tested using t-test statistical tool with aid of SPSS statistical package. The study revealed that the professional ethics significantly affect the quality assurance of audit hence, Professional ethics is essential in quality assurance inaudit as it enhance independence of auditor, also that the professional ethics has a significanteffect on quality of standards in auditing. Another finding is that the amount of audit fee paid by client can easily influence the auditor’s professional ethics. Based on this, the study recommends among other things that professional accountants should be trained for the task ahead beforebeing deployed to the field and induction training should be provided to new auditors on the fundamentals of carrying out a quality auditing exercise.
