The staff of the American Institute of CPAs, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board have jointly released guidance on the use of specialists in COVID-19 environment, including some considerations involving the use of specialists when auditing financial statements during the pandemic.
The staff guidance, released Tuesday, aims to help accountants and auditors determine when there might be a need to use the services of a specialist to help them perform specific tasks and other professional activities within their own organizations, as well as when they serve their clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication discusses some of the ethical considerations for accountants to think about when using a specialist, along with some of the circumstances that indicate a need for a specialist when auditing financial statements.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced many accountants and auditors to work remotely, as well as curtailed travel to client locations, particularly those located abroad, when travel restrictions remain in place in many countries.
Carol Laufer is senior vice president and the head of liability in North America at Allianz Commercial. Based in New York, Laufer brings more than 30 years of insurance industry experience to the Allianz Liability team.
Tim Hilligoss is a partner at Wipfli who helps closely held business owners tackle the top financial, tax and operational issues impacting their bottom line. His experience includes entity and organizational structure, U.S. tax planning and compliance, and transactional services with a focus on tax efficient deal structuring, buy-sell side due diligence, Quality of Earnings studies and reorganizations.
Global CDO, consultant, speaker and author Janet M. Stovall helps business dismantle systemic inequity to leverage the power of diversity. Global Head of DEI at NeuroLeadership Institute, and founder of DEI consultancy, Pragmatic Diversity, Janet specializes in shaping and implementing realistic DEI visions and strategies that drive change and build culture. Collectively, her three TED talks challenging business to get serious about inclusion have nearly 3 million views, and she is co-author of Amazon bestseller, The Conscious Communicator: The Fine Art of Not Saying Stupid Sh*t.
The guidance points out that the pandemic could also pose threats to ethical standards, and accountants may find it challenging with the changing laws and regulations pertaining to COVID-19. They may come under pressure to breach the principles of professional competence, due care and professional behavior. “Those who perform audits of financial statements may face additional challenges as well, including considerations related to auditor independence,” said the document. During the pandemic, accountants also might not have access to the usual resources they have at their offices to ensure competent performance, and they may need to turn to outside specialists to help them perform certain tasks or undertake some engagements.
The publication was developed by the staff of the AICPA under the auspices of a working group formed by the IESBA and national ethics standard setters from Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S. The working group was chaired by IESBA deputy chair Richard Fleck with the goal of developing implementation support resources to help accountants effectively apply the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) when facing circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. IESBA and IAASB staff also provided their input. The working group plans to develop more COVID-19 guidance in the weeks ahead.
