Profession in Focus: Audit Committee Considerations During COVID-19

On this edition of Profession in Focus, the CAQ’s Vanessa Teitelbaum, Senior Director, Professional Practice, sits down with Brian Anderson, Corporate Director and CAQ Governing Board Member and Amy Rojik, Assurance Partner and Director at BDO’s Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting, to uncover what audit committee members should be focused on, given the radical changes that have occurred in the last 3 months due to the COVID-19 virus and pandemic.

Jump to a topic:

Purpose of the corporation – more important than ever in the current environment

Operational considerations related to liquidity, including variable cash flows, modeling for business outlook scenarios, capital expenditure and allocations considerations, communications with stakeholders is key

Governance oversight and financial reporting considerations including risk factors, increased transparency, ongoing assessment of contracts, evaluation of intangibles

Cybersecurity including increased volume of phishing attempts, increased threat of ransomware, focus on defenses, impact of third-party risks

Financial close and auditing in a virtual environment including use of technology advances enabling seamless transition, cadence of communication and use of video among auditors, management, and audit committees, consideration of processes and procedures in place to handle a year-end close

Audit committee oversight in a virtual environment including embracing use of technology to enable communications, need for information and education, focus on increased identification and response to risks, importance of long-term objectives to emerge from crisis stronger than before