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.
As a co-founder and managing director of BrandCulture, Eric leads BrandCulture's strategy practice. Across his career, Eric has worked with big and small organizations alike to put their respective best feet forward through strategic branding, naming, print and digital media.
Prior to BrandCulture, Eric served in a variety of client- and agency-side executive positions, including Head of Corporate Affairs and Head of Strategic Marketing for LRN Corporation and Senior Vice President at global branding and interactive media consultancy Siegel + Gale. Earlier, Eric was an attorney with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, where he specialized in representing technology clients.
Eric is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School, holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Stanford University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He also studied at St. Catherine's College, Oxford and the University of Urbino in Italy.
Jon is a pioneer in wedding the disciplines of strategic branding and culture development united in Shared Purpose. From the time he had the prescience to purchase the domain "BrandCulture.com" back in the last Millennium, Jon cultivated the idea of forming a new kind of agency that integrates brand and organizational development as the flip sides of the same coin. With BrandCulture now in its second decade, Jon takes singular satisfaction in finding that the world has, at long last, come around to his point of view.
Jon has previously held senior strategic and business development roles within Wolfgang Puck, Siegel + Gale, Imagination and Caribiner International, where his clients have included BMW, BEA Systems, Ford, The Coca-Cola Company, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Jiffy Lube, Lexus, Motorola, Philips Electronics and other global organizations.
Jon serves on the board of the Michael Hoefflin Foundation and holds a BS in Finance from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and an MS in Real Estate and Urban Affairs from J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.
Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is an organizational psychologist, keynote speaker and thought leader on the evolution of work who is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
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.
