Implications For Audit Committees Arising From Covid19

Posted on 29 June, 2020 at 10:03

By Epaphras Chinyakuza

The basics of good governance and effective oversight arrangements are all more important during the COVID-19 crisis, as organizations face significant uncertainty, a rapidly changing risk landscape, and an increased need for transparency and confidence in reported information on its implications from the funding partners’ community and other key stakeholders.

For audit committees, who are a key component of effective governance, COVID-19 is causing a strategic shift in their roles, with more on their agendas than ever before. But at their core, audit committees play a key role in creating and maintaining a culture and environment that supports the integrity and provision of decision useful information about an organization to its key stakeholders. Transparency is of paramount importance during this time of uncertainty.

Audit committees need to be engaged and informed and receive actionable and timely information from management team so they can effectively carry out their oversight role.

To further explore the specific implications for audit committees and their stakeholders arising from COVID-19, we contacted Board members, Senior Management Team Members and other key stakeholders.

Balancing core responsibilities with emerging priorities

Audit committees have to be vigilant on an expanding range of issues, review their agendas and priorities in response to COVID-19. But at the same time ensure they can remain firmly focused on their fundamental responsibilities in respect to the oversight of financial reporting and internal controls, which have added complexities arising from the pandemic.

Given the level of uncertainty about the economy and future financial resources of most organisations over the next 12-18 months, coupled with a shift to remote working, issues top of mind for audit committees include:

Monitoring impact on cash flow and identifying early signs of financial stress and other financial reporting implications, such as lease considerations, accounting estimates and property, plant and equipment.

Third-party risk management, scenario planning, awareness of new legislation, and ensuring comprehensive organisational continuity thinking that is relevant to the current crisis.

Monitoring and maintaining an effective internal control environment, taking into account changes as a result of updated policies and procedures, increased cyber security and data privacy issues, and displacement of staff.

The potential for heightened risk of fraud due to financial pressures and new operating environments.

Boards are also looking to their audit committees for guidance on a broader set of issues and risks including around people and capacity (keeping people employed and productive, as well as key person dependencies and succession planning), ensuring cost control is not to the detriment of the organisation and control environment, crisis management and resilience, and disaster recovery plans.

Any additional responsibilities taken on by the audit committee need to be clear and carefully considered to ensure the committee is not overburdened, that it has the right experience and expertise, and that new responsibilities do not detract it from its core oversight responsibilities.   

Keeping informed through virtual communication

Audit committees are adapting their way of working to function and fulfill their responsibilities without meeting physically. This means embracing virtual meetings and much more frequent communication, particularly with the board, management, internal auditors / compliance officers, and external auditors.

Audit committees rely on actionable and timely information and analysis to effectively carry out their oversight role otherwise they will be “flying blind”. The changing nature of the current crisis requires more frequent updates from the management team. In some cases, this is occurring on a weekly basis on priority issues.

A multi-disciplinary approach

Now is a critical time for all organisations and requires a multi-disciplinary approach to good governance, drawing upon expertise and working closely with others. This requires a clear understanding of the respective responsibilities of different groups, including the Board, audit committee, management team, internal audit or compliance section and external audit. It is important that boards understand what audit committees do and the nature of their engagement with auditors, and their own collective responsibilities in relation to the integrity of reporting and ethical conduct needs to be fully appreciated.

Broadly speaking, the current crisis makes the need for connectivity and collaboration across an organization more pressing. Examples include:

The interaction between different committees such as the audit committee and risk committee, is an important means of expanding expertise and insights, and strengthening collaboration. This can be achieved through crossover in committee membership, or through joint meetings.

The audit committee may also need to work with other committees of the board, such as those focused on HR, programming and fundraising committees.

In the context of a need for transparency and to ensure more and better analysis and information to help steer the organization, the finance function, internal audit, and IT are increasingly working closely together, sometimes blurring the normal boundaries of what the different functions do and involving accountants and internal auditors stepping beyond their functions and traditional roles.

Dealing with accounting and reporting issues, and emerging risk areas may require drawing on relevant expertise from auditors and other sources before there can be confidence in the appropriateness of judgments, the completeness of thinking, and the conclusions drawn.

Audit committees more fully utilizing the potential of internal audit to provide an advisory role (while still maintaining their independence), where needed particularly where they have expertise in much needed.

Broader reporting and communication

The actions and decisions taken today by organisations and their Directors in response to COVID-19 will define their reputation and standing in the future. organisations need to understand and communicate their value propositions to different stakeholders and thinking about how the organisation can have, a social impact.  

In the wake of the current crisis, funding partners are also increasingly asking for more forward-looking information and disclosures. Stakeholders need to understand that boards and their audit committees will be making reasonable judgements in the context and on the basis of information available currently. It is likely that for many NGOs, judgements were reasonable and supportable at the time, but actual results in the future may differ.

Many organizations report broader information through mandatory and voluntary narrative reporting, but there is room for improvement. To enhance trust and transparency, the audit committee can play a crucial role in respect to broader institutional reporting, overseeing a wider set of organisational and reporting risks.

 

Key References:

AICPA: The audit committee checklist for COVID-19

IIA: COVID-19 Resource Exchange and Newswire

NACD: Why Audit Committees Are So Important During the COVID-19 Crisis