The spread of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has had a pervasive impact on how nearly all businesses, including audit firms, operate. Auditors have had to adapt their approaches to fit changing risk profiles while finding new ways of working and communicating with clients.
While the future will no doubt entail some degree of reversion to ‘normality’ and in-person reviews, it is also likely that due to the risk of further COVID-19 outbreaks, as well as cost-benefit analyses, in many jurisdictions some degree of remote auditing is here to stay.
This guide focuses on what that ‘new normal’ may look like, drawing on lessons learned from COVID-19 on the practicalities of audits conducted remotely.
It explores the following topics in-depth:
1. Audit administration
2. Remote team-working
3. Audit approach and risk assessment
4. Work on internal controls
5. Professional scepticism, fraud and error