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.
Georgina Bulkeley serves as a Managing Director of Global Financial Services and an Industry Leader at Google Cloud. In her role, Georgina works with Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets clients around the world and regularly acts as a spokesperson for Google Cloud.
Georgina brings more than 24 years of experience in the Financial Services Industry. She most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer at NatWest Retail Bank, having previously been the Director of Risk and Compliance and the Head of Financial Strategy. While at NatWest she delivered a number of award-winning Banking innovations in the areas of Voice Banking and Biometric Debit and Credit cards. Prior to NatWest, Georgina was the Director of Structured Finance at Standard Life Investments and she started her career at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking and Capital Markets Divisions. She has also served as a Board Member at both FreeAgent, the award-winning Cloud based SME accounting platform and the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
Georgina holds an LLB in Law from Durham University and Diplomas from Oxford University, London Business School and Singularity University in Silicon Valley. She is also a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Finance Forum, an Associate at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and a mentor on the FTSE100 Mentoring Foundation Executive Programme.
Eric Joost is President of Artificial, where he leads the company's U.S. expansion and works with specialty brokers and carriers to modernize how placement and underwriting get done. He has extensive experience across brokerage, underwriting, operations and technology in the commercial insurance market.
Before joining Artificial, Eric held senior roles at WTW, Aon, Allianz and CAC Group, where he worked hands-on with insurers and brokers to modernize legacy processes, build new distribution channels and translate emerging technology into measurable business outcomes.
David studied Accounting and Economics at Loyola University Chicago and later deepened his expertise at MIT, focusing on Data and Economic Policy. He was the innovator behind Deloitte Cortex, Deloitte's flagship analytics platform, and previously led software innovations at both Deloitte and Synchrony Bank. With a strong technical background in machine learning and large language models (LLMs), David drives the development of Abacus' products and infrastructure. Today, he guides the company's vision, product strategy, and enterprise AI innovation across regulated industries.
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.
