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.
The agency proposed changes in December to how customer relationships affect the definition of brokered funds, which has big implications for banks that are not well capitalized.
Mastercard has increased the contactless payment limit to CA$250 across Canada to provide consumers with a safer way to pay during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bonnie Sinnock is National Mortgage News' Capital Markets Editor at Arizent and has worked for NMN and affiliated publications since 1995. Her previous roles have included assisting in the coordination of origination coverage, technology reporting and chronicling cross-border issues.
Bonnie currently edits and writes about mortgage capital markets topics that include servicing, acquisitions, industry funding sources, securitization and other secondary market sales. Secondary market topics covered include two government-sponsored enterprise loan buyers that the U.S. has been considering spinning off part of in a new and potentially groundbreaking initial public offering.
She also has contributed articles to multiple award-winning Arizent series, including:
- Election Coverage (Finalist, Neal Awards 2025), for her 2024 reporting on the likelihood Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform in the second Trump administration
- Online Single-Topic Coverage by a Team (American Society of Business Editors, Regional Bronze 2023), for participating in group reporting about industry layoffs.
- Online Breaking News Coverage (Regional Bronze, Azbees 2021) for contributing to a package of stories on about the initial impact of the pandemic on the mortgage market
- Best News Coverage (Neals 2016) for one of the articles in a package delving into multiple aspects of the transformative TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule
Other journalistic accomplishments and designations include:
- New York Financial Writers Association member
- Reporter for the NonProfit Times, the Courier News, and the Los Angeles Independent
- Published articles in the Los Angeles Times and the Saginaw News
- Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from Northwestern University
Twitter: @bcynic
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.
