“They cannot sacrifice audit quality despite the circumstances.” Know your clients “Auditors have had a number of months to adapt to this environment, have conversations with clients, and assess the challenges,” said Jeff Kovacs, CPA, CGMA, assurance partner at Cohen & Company. As the pandemic continued, more audit procedures had to be modified for subsequent reporting cycles, and macroeconomic forecasts became increasingly important. In March, as many firms were completing year-end 2019 audits, there were some impacts to certain clients’ operations. Since the pandemic developed in February, auditors have needed to keep their finger on the pulse of changes worldwide. Some industries have been more affected than others by COVID-19 and by the economic volatility, both positively and negatively, and auditors need to be especially mindful of new or elevated risks for companies in those industries. “We have gone back to the basics of audit risk, risk of material misstatements, and detection risk, and encouraged our practitioners to reconsider risks throughout the audit cycle,” said Jen Haskell, CPA, chief auditor at Deloitte. Despite the added complexities, auditors must continue to focus on high-quality audits that fully comply with standards for objectivity and professional skepticism. Risk assessments in the current environment are unlike any others, as clients are dealing with significant changes to their businesses, the work environment, and the economy overall as a result of COVID-19. Auditors’ assessments and responses to risks of financial statement misstatement and fraud are critical to audit quality.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |