1. Personally the first thing I would do if going into a country with hostile feelings towards the United States would be simply get an understanding of the culture of that nation or country. I feel that other countries feel the way they do about the U.S. because of our inability to understand other cultures and different ways of doing things. In the case of the Kaset Thai Sugar company, although there was definitely shady business practices going on, I feel these prominent families have never been audited like this before and were even embarrassed by many of the questions they were asked. If there was a greater awareness of the differences between cultures maybe this business engagement would not have ended so tragically. I would be willing to go into audit engagements which could possibly hostile as long I did a little research and got an understanding of the culture and the differences to that of the United States. That being said I would definitely want adequate security which I feel was lacking in the Kaset Thai Sugar Case.
2. I do not feel it is necessarily appropriate for a professional services firm to ask employees to serve on which there personal safety is at risk. Although, I do understand that in certain situations such as the Kaset Thai Sugar case this is inevitable. Going into different countries to do engagements may become more common as more and more products are being made outside of the United States.
The Essay on Culture & country
There is no country today whose culture and values are so isolated from the mainstream of the world. The preservation of their thoughts and peculiarities as people has been, not just a social phenomenon, but a proof that no culture is so exact or perfect to any community on earth. Each is tailored-fit to that specific tribe, community, or people. The Philippines was colonized by the United States ...
So I feel it is up to the individual auditors of that firm if they wish to take on the engagement. Although it may not be appropriate, someone is going to have to look at foreign companies unless we are willing to accept their foreign business practices and ways of doing things. More security measures must be taken in engagements deemed to be hostile to ensure the safety of the firms employees.
