However, the new whistleblower bounty exclusion does not pertain to illegal acts or violations of securities laws related to the audit itself, the firm, or the team conducting the audit but only to acts by the client and directors.

FORBES: Mind On The Money: The Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Provisions

The inspector general office has been conducting an audit of the IRS handling of the applications process.

WSJ: IRS Scrutiny Was Deeper Than Thought

Venezuela's electoral council is currently conducting an audit of the votes, which Mr Capriles has dismissed as a "farce".

BBC: Venezuela and Colombia in row over Capriles meeting

Conducting an audit and seeing the legal rationale both seemed sensible to Goldsmith, but the vice president's counsel said no.

NPR: Senate Panel to Hear from Ex-DOJ Official

As for News Limited itself, it has condemned phone hacking and is now conducting an internal audit of payments over the past three years to ensure all of them were legitimate.

BBC: Murdoch in Australia: The fallout