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.
Yuval Teller-Hason is Director of Business Operations at Ledge, a finance operations platform that automates high-volume reconciliation with AI. Prior to joining Ledge in 2023, he worked for nine years in the Israel Ministry of Finance where he built economic strategy for the banking, capital management, and insurance sectors, led legislation efforts for open banking, and designed initiatives to develop the local payment market, including the creation of a new regulatory framework for payment service providers.
Matt Wood is the global head of finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO) at Personiv, responsible for delivering finance and accounting solutions to clients worldwide. He joined Personiv in 2016, bringing a wealth of experience from organizations including HireBetter, Dell and Princeton Recruiting Group, with a focus in recruiting and operations.
Erich Kron is Security Awareness Advocate for KnowBe4, the world-renowned cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management with over 70,000 customers and more than 60 million users. A 25-year veteran information security professional with experience in the medical, aerospace, manufacturing, and defense fields, he was a security manager for the U.S. Army's 2nd Regional Cyber Center-Western Hemisphere and holds CISSP, CISSP-ISSAP, SACP, and other certifications. Erich has worked with information security professionals around the world to provide tools, training, and educational opportunities to succeed in information security. Contact him through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erichkron/.
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.
