Q.Which of the following is a correct statement about the protection and preservation of Audit Working Papers?
(A) The auditor may freely disclose them to any interested third party without restriction
(B) The auditor must maintain their confidentiality and retain them for a sufficient period after the audit is completed
(C) Working papers may be destroyed immediately after the audit report is signed
(D) There is no need to safeguard working papers against loss or damage, since they can always be recreated later

Working papers demand active, ongoing protection — confidentiality plus retention — not free disclosure or casual disposal.

Section e sets out the discipline auditors must follow in protecting and preserving working papers: maintaining strict confidentiality (no disclosure to unauthorised persons without proper cause or the client's consent, subject to any overriding legal requirement), adopting adequate physical and procedural safeguards against loss, damage, tampering, or unauthorised access, and retaining the papers for a sufficient period after the audit is complete, since they may be needed years later — for instance in litigation, a regulatory inquiry, or a professional quality review. …

Students sometimes think working papers are only relevant while the audit is actually in progress and can be discarded once the report is signed — in fact, retention beyond the engagement's formal completion is a core part of the confidenti …