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.
Craig Carpenter is the chief executive officer at X1. Craig has 20 years of experience as a CEO, COO, CRO, CMO and general counsel in the eDiscovery, compliance and cybersecurity spaces.
Prior to X1, Craig was the CEO of Fronteo (NASDAQ: FTEO), before which he was SVP of sales at Kroll Ontrack until its acquisition by the Carlyle Group. Prior to Kroll Ontrack, Craig was CMO and then COO at AccessData, before which Craig spent seven years as the VP of marketing and business development and general counsel at Recommind prior to its acquisition by Open Text (NASDAQ: OTEX). Before Recommind, Craig ran global marketing and channel teams at Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) prior to its IPO and at Mirapoint prior to its acquisition by Openwave (NASDAQ:SNCR).
Craig began his career as a practicing attorney at Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley in Silicon Valley. Craig has a JD and MBA from Santa Clara University and BAs in Political Science and History from UCLA where he played football and rowed crew.
Peter Ku is vice president and chief industry strategist - financial services, at Informatica.
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.
