问答题 Money Bank (‘the Bank’) received an application for a loan from a company (‘the Loan’). The company submitted a copy of the company’s annual report to the Bank to support the application. The report, which was an unqualified one, contained negligent misstatements by the auditors preparing the report. In reliance upon the report, the Bank granted the Loan to the company. Required: In relation to professional negligence:

问答题 (a) Advise the auditors as to whether they owed a duty of care to Money Bank. (5 marks)

问答题 (b) Advise whether the auditors would owe a duty of care to Money Bank if the auditors gave the report to them directly with the knowledge that the Bank would rely on the report to determine the granting of the Loan. (5 marks)