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.
Liz is a Certified Financial Planning Professional and is serving clients at Planning Across the Spectrum as the Director of Financial Planning. Liz joined Planning Across the Spectrum in February 2021 after working with two traditional financial planning firms. She works mostly remotely from Maryland, where she lives with her husband, son, puppy, and backyard chickens. She is excited to move beyond traditional planning into the specialized world supporting families with I/DD and ASD.
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Sandra Wiley, the president of Boomer Consulting Inc., is ranked by Accounting Today as one of the 100 most influential people in accounting as a result of her prominent role as an industry expert on HR and training as well as influence as a management and planning consultant. She is a certified Kolbetrainer who advises firms on building balanced teams, managing employee conflict and hiring staff. Her Kolbe Index reveals her to be a visionary leader who is gifted with the ability to tackle emerging as well as future challenges. Wiley is regularly invited to speak at national conferences, and is a popular author who is frequently published by many trade journals including CPA Practice Management Report, Accounting Today, Accounting Web, The CPA Practice Management Forum, The CPA Report of South Carolina, Lagniappe of Louisiana and The Asset of Missouri Societies. She also contributes a regular column covering human resources to the Boomer Bulletin and penned an award winning marketing plan, Rebuilding the Community Bank, published by the Bank Marketing Association. Prior to joining Boomer, she worked for over 16 years in the financial services industry in the areas of human resources, marketing/sales, training, and business development. She has developed and presented over 50 training programs and numerous one-day seminars in human resources and marketing/sales. She was an officer of the American Institute of Banking. Wiley is a graduate of Friends University, in Wichita, Kansas, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Human Resource Management. She also graduated with honors from the University of Colorado School of Bank Marketing. She and her husband, Doug, make their home in Manhattan, Kansas. They have three children: Charlie, Deanna and Sarah.
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.
