Auditing and Attestation - Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Practice Exam 2026 - Free CPA Practice Questions and Study Guide

When a component's financial statements are considered material, it is the responsibility of the group engagement partner to ensure proper communication with the component auditor. This communication is essential for a few reasons:

1. **Understanding Component Work**: The group engagement partner needs to understand the nature and extent of the work performed by the component auditor, including any significant risks identified and how those risks were addressed, in order to appropriately evaluate the impact on the consolidated financial statements.

2. **Coordination for Effective Audit**: Effective communication helps in coordinating the audit procedures. The group engagement partner must stay informed about the component auditor's findings, issues, and conclusions, which can influence the group audit approach and the assessment of the overall audit risks.

3. **Reliance on Component Audit**: The group engagement partner may rely on the work of the component auditor for certain areas of the consolidated financial statements. To make that determination, open lines of communication are necessary to assess the adequacy of the work performed by the component auditor.

Overall, ensuring proper communication allows the group engagement partner to fulfill their responsibility to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence in relation to the consolidated financial statements as a whole.

The other options do not reflect the appropriate expectations for a group engagement partner in this context.