The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Friday released its latest “Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs” update, this edition focusing on the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The update explains how “[m]ost audit committee chairs indicated that they are contending with new or increased risks associated with the effects of COVID-19,” including in the areas of cyber-security, employee safety and mental health, going concern, accounting estimates, impairments, international operations, and accounting implications of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. But it also suggests a silver lining of sorts in highlighting increased communication between audit committee chairs and auditors that is expected to extend as the pandemic plays out.
