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.
Paul Mang is Chief Innovation Officer at Guidewire, a provider of predictive analytics and business intelligence solutions for the P&C insurance industry. He is the former Global CEO of Analytics at Aon plc.
André is responsible for the strategy and execution of direct venture and fund investment, in addition to establishing partnerships in the reinsurance business space that generate accretive value for RGA.
With an insurance industry career spanning over 20 years, André has spent the last 17 with RGA in various roles from marketing, business and product development, venture investment and senior leadership. Since first joining RGA in South Africa in 2005, he has worked in local, regional, and international positions, most recently transitioning to venture investments in 2015. His team currently oversees a portfolio of more than 35 venture and 8 fund investments spanning the globe.
André holds a post graduate degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and Fellowships with the Institute of Actuaries (FIA), the Actuarial Society of South Africa (FASSA) and the New Zealand Society of Actuaries, while being an affiliate member of the Actuaries Institute of Australia.
He regularly presents at industry and professional conferences and is an active thought leader on many current matters affecting life and health insurance industry.
Ted Moynihan is partner and global head of financial services at Oliver Wyman.
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.
