Carry out an activity auditing, normally means for the auditor to serve his client promptly, collecting information and sharing insights
e reports. With the limitations generated by the pandemic, mainly in relation to face-to-face meetings, the process of auditing has been heavily impacted on its usual procedures, requiring more attention to issues such as data security, assessment of variations and the level of uncertainty.
Despite the impossibility of holding regular face-to-face meetings with clients, the auditing needs to maintain its commitment to the quality of the information collected, so auditors must consider privacy and data security issues even more carefully to ensure that data is transmitted and stored securely. The planning and other meetings of auditing, such as discussions about fraud, which usually take place in person, have been carried out through teleconferences or videoconferences, always taking into account the critical aspects of data processing. Risk assessments must also take into account the effect of COVID-19 on the client's business and, consequently, some inherent risks previously considered insignificant but which may become material to the company. auditing of the current period.
In the current situation, both preliminary and substantive analyzes can become more difficult because historical data may be poorly correlated with current year data. The changes, therefore, will need to be studied carefully by the auditing and it may be necessary to consider whether changes in management's initial assessments from the prior period are reasonable. For substantive analyses, the conclusions must be adequately supported, as evidence of auditing may not become acceptable if the variation is justified solely as caused by the impact of COVID-19.
Regarding the control tests in the auditing, practitioners often need to obtain original documents to demonstrate the effectiveness of a control, however, in a remote operation, the original documents are rarely available and therefore the auditor may have difficulty demonstrating the control's operating effectiveness, although a copy of the documentation can be provided to the auditing by email. In this situation, alternative controls that are easier to prove may need to be tested or the auditing may need to consider performing additional substantive procedures.
Get in touch with TATICCA – ALLINIAL GLOBAL, which operates throughout Brazil and globally, with integrated auditing, accounting, tax, corporate finance, technology, risk advisory, business consulting and training. PFor more information, visit www.taticca.com.br or e-mail taticca@taticca.com.br and learn more. Our company has professionals with extensive experience in the market and has certified methodologies for carrying out activities.