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.
Kerry L. Myers is a clinical professor of forensic accounting and law at the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy at the University of South Florida. He is also assigned to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida. He earned his Juris Doctorate, with Distinction, from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Accounting, Summa Cum Laude, from Central Missouri University. He is a licensed attorney in Missouri where he practiced law and was a federal prosecutor for many years. He recently retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he served as the supervisory special agent of the Technical Operations Squad.
Christine Andrews is a clinical professor in the Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy at the University of South Florida, teaching courses in managerial and cost accounting, and business strategy. She has more than 30 years of experience teaching accounting, in addition to a previous career as a CPA. She holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Cleveland State University, and an MBA and bachelor's degree from the University of Buffalo. Andrews has published more than 20 times, including in the Journal of Accountancy and the CPA Journal. Her research interests include fraud hotline effectiveness, accounting for environmental liabilities, and other pedagogical issues.
Scott is passionate about developing and unlocking the potential in people, creating a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can thrive and succeed, and bringing this same passion to solving complex problems. He spent 15+ years at eBay where he was most recently Vice President of Customer Service Technology Solutions. He played a key role in expanding their operations in Utah and co-led the transformation of eBay’s global customer service with a focus on improving the customer experience while decreasing costs annually. Scott attended the University of New Mexico where he studied Business Administration.
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.
