53%
of respondents say they’re experiencing pressures completing client services
work, and 36% say they face an inability to meet reporting deadlines.
The impact of
Covid-19 is already having a significant impact across the audit profession and
public practice leaders finds research from ACCA Covid-19 global
survey: inside business, impacts and responses.
The pandemic has
specific implications for auditing firms, with the nature of the audit process
needing engagement and direct interaction with the audited entity.
Although digital
advances continue to influence how audits are conducted and how evidence is
gathered, as well as aspects of the reporting process, for many firms the
crisis is creating a systemic shock to normal client engagement activities.
Mike Suffield,
director – professional insights at ACCA says: ‘From increased pressure to
complete audit work to issues in getting audit evidence, and very sensitive
judgments in areas such as going concern, auditors will need to re-evaluate how
they undertake normal auditing activities. There are challenges ahead, but
respondents also spoke openly about opportunities.’
ACCA fellow, Dato'
Lock Peng Kuan, Managing Partner, Audit & Assurance, Baker Tilly Malaysia
and Chair of ACCA Audit and Assurance Global Forum, adds: ‘The key factor in
managing a crisis of any nature is, first, to maintain a strong element of
trust within the organisation, and with clients. It is immensely heartening to
see respondents put health and safety top of their actions in dealing with the
pandemic.’
A significant 53% of
respondents said they were experiencing pressures completing client services
work, and over a third (36%) said they faced an inability to meet reporting
deadlines - a point recognised in many jurisdictions where reporting deadlines
have been flexed. A quarter said they’re experiencing difficulties in gathering
audit evidence, and 27% said they saw an increased audit risk relating to
valuation of assets, completeness of liabilities or going concern issues.
On the positive side,
the 1,857 respondents to the global research from public practice and audit
leaders have already reported significant opportunities for providing enhanced
insights and value to audited entities through the audit process.
Focussing on the
risks ahead for all businesses across all sectors, Mike Suffield concludes:
‘These immediate impacts will resonate into the future, and it’s important that
we do not lose sight of business fundamentals. Even in the face of Covid-19,
businesses large and small will still face existing risks such as
cybersecurity. We need to remember that different ways of working and strategic
reactions could change these risks or even introduce new ones. Ensuring that
risks continue to be managed, both specifically in response to the crisis and
more generally, is essential.’
The full survey can
be found on ACCA’’s website: https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/professional-insights/global-economics/Covid-19_A-Global-Survey.html
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