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.
Bill joined Plymouth Rock in 2016 and is in charge of our property insurance business and reinsurance programs. Bill has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. Bill was formerly President of Bankers Insurance, winning a Celent Model Insurer award in 2014 for simplifying homeowners insurance shopping. He also founded a startup with a new approach to flood insurance and has held senior positions at Farmers Insurance, Progressive and Travelers. Bill is a graduate of Stanford University, with a degree in Survey Data Research. He is a frequent speaker and author on insurance issues and has served on the Institute for Business and Home Safety and other safety organizations. He is an active board member of nonprofits that combat poverty and aid those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He is an avid sailor, skier and trombone player.
Bryan Davis serves as Executive Vice President and Head of VIU by HUB, a digital brokerage
platform backed and developed by HUB International, the largest personal lines broker in the U.S. He is
responsible for the vision and strategy, profit & loss, investment priorities and supporting a network of
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With more than 20 years of industry experience, Davis has led transformational projects and driven growth in personal and commercial lines, product management and pricing, sales and business
development, underwriting and operations.
An industry leader in product, sales, and digital innovation, Davis previously held leadership positions with USAA, Nationwide, and AIG. Davis is a graduate of Wofford College and also has an MBA. He's also credentialed as a ChFC & CPCU and is also a former Member of the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross of San Antonio.
Evan Daniels serves on the advisory board of Monitaur, an AI/ML governance software company committed to working with the insurance industry and regulators towards the responsible and effective integration of AI/ML. Formerly Director of the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions and served as the 2022 Co-Vice Chair of the NAIC Committee on Innovation, Cybersecurity and Technology, which oversees the NAIC's Big Data and Artificial Intelligence workstreams, Evan also is Counsel at Mitchell Sandler LLC, a boutique financial services law firm, where he advises insurance companies, insurtechs, fintechs, and financial institutions on regulatory matters. For more information on Monitaur, please visit www.monitaur.ai, and follow the company on LinkedIn.
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.
