The impact of risk-taking and auditor characteristics on value creation in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19 pandemic: MRN

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of risk-taking and auditor characteristics on value creation in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In addition, it investigates the moderator role of auditor characteristics in the impact of risk-taking on value creation, especially in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe information about 199 company in 2014–2021 was examined. In the present study, in accordance with the related theoretical literature and the importance of auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor reputation, these factors were considered as the auditor characteristics.FindingsThe present findings based on the generalized least squares (GLS) method showed that risk-taking positively affects the value creation. The auditor characteristics (auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor reputation) have a significant positive effect on the value creation. Furthermore, the auditor characteristics enhance the impact of risk-taking on value creation. The results of generalized method of moments method and robust regression analysis are consistent with the GLS results. To take into account the Covid-19 conditions, the data were divided into pre-Covid-19 and post-Covid-19 years. The results showed that auditor characteristics moderate the impact of risk-taking on value creation in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19.Originality/valueThe study highlights the role of auditor characteristics in the value creation, especially in the emerging market. Given that Covid-19 has seriously damaged global economic well-being and has put companies at a double risk, the present findings can be useful for managers, investors and the international community, and help company managers make risk-taking policies and select auditors with appropriate characteristics.

Auditing of SARS-COV-2 Contagion and Transmission Protocols as a Stakeholder Management Tool

Governments and companies in all affected countries have taken measures to prevent, on the one hand, the rapid spread of the virus among the population and, on the other hand, to alleviate the economic and commercial consequences of the crisis that is already changing the daily functioning of the population and the companies. The COVID-19 pandemic has radically and unexpectedly transformed the global economic landscape. The objective of this work is to demonstrate a set of information that can meet the expectations of the internal and external stakeholders of an organization concerned with constructively relating to its stakeholders–aiming at the possibility of carrying out the work and serving customers in the context of the pandemic. The research method is the study based on the literature review process focusing on information and research systems, books, and a manufacturer's case study. It also has practical data–information collected from audits carried out. Stakeholders' expectations and interests are connected to this issue and can be aligned through an Audit of Contagion and Transmission Protocols of SARS-COV-2. Copyright © 2021 Muncinelli, Pinheiro de Lima, Vecchia, Moro, Deschamps, Gouvea da Costa and Cestari.

DESIGNING AN ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT PROGRAM FOR HEALTH INSTITUTIONS TO CONFRONT THE EPIDEMIC

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to design a COVID-19 audit program for the Iraqi Ministry of Health and its affiliated health institutions, by emphasize the significance of environmental auditing in economic units and its role in attaining sustainable development. Theoretical framework: To achieve the goals of the unit with the greatest possible percentage of economic and environmental benefits, development, and sustainable growth environmentally and socially, rather than the current situation of unplanned and undistinguished growth, the research seeks to encourage economic units to link project development with environmental protection together with one activity. Design/methodology/approach: The study sample included workers in the health sector in the Iraqi Ministry of Health, who numbered 200 employees during the period between 2020-2021, and the study relied on the content analysis method and the checklist to test and implement the proposed program. Findings: The study find that economic units increase their interest in environmental auditing in order to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development goals, as well as reconsider current growth measures, and that all of these changes have a significant impact on environmental quality. Research, Practical & Social implications: Researchers in the social, economic, and environmental fields should consider the importance of a sustainable environment by linking parameters. It is a good time to educate people about global health and a green sustainable environment. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the relationship between environmental auditing and COVID-19 at the level of Iraq in particular and the entire world. © 2023 AOS-Estratagia and Inovacao. All Rights Reserved.

The Influence of Technological Factors on the Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques Usage during COVID-19

There is minimal level of use of Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs) in developing nations regardless of its importance to audit productivity and cost reduction, and this holds particularly true in the public sector entities' internal audit departments. Accordingly, this article aims to explore how technological factors, such as relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, observability, and trialability, contribute to the use of CAATTs in Jordan's public sector internal audit during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on the profession's outcome. The study also seeks to evaluate how the use of these tools affects the effectiveness of internal auditing, with the IT knowledge of the auditors serving as a moderating variable. This study used 91 usable responses from the internal audit managers of Jordanian public sector institutions. The study used the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory to develop the proposed research model. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the study result indicated that technological factors, with the exception of complexity, had a positive and significant effect on CAATTs use in the public sector internal audit departments. Based on the findings, using CAATTs has a positive and significant effect on internal audit effectiveness and IT knowledge has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between CAATTs usage and internal audit effectiveness. Owing to the public sector significance to the economy of Jordan, the findings have implications for the internal audit profession, regulators, and decision-makers in proposing new legislation and regulations when it comes to internal audit. Further, through the lens of the social implications, this study proposed that CAATTs usage in public sector institutions can positively improve their capability to reach the role of internal audit in protective public funds and limiting corrupt practices in the public sector. The paper contributes to theory by providing insight into the effect of factors on the use of CAATTs in the public sector of Jordan. This study, to the best of the author's knowledge, is the first study that has tackled the moderating role of auditors' IT knowledge on the CAATTs use–internal audit effectiveness relationship in the public sector context.

Wave after wave: unboxing 40 years of auditing ethics research

Purpose - To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that aims to present a comprehensive view of the auditing ethics literature by unboxing 40 years of efforts in the field. Design/methodology/approach - This study combined bibliometric, social network and content analysis by analyzing 114 articles published in accounting and top business ethics journals on the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2021.Findings - The results show a rising interest in this topic and reveal auditors' ethical decision-making and moral reasoning as the most discussed topics in the literature. The work also clusters the literature according to keywords and scopes, identifying literature gaps and suggesting new avenues for future research.Practical implications - The research results assist provide an overarching image of the auditing ethics field. In addition, these results draw possible future avenues to bridge the void in the current auditing ethics literature by presenting indispensable directions for potential research. For example, future research could pay more attention to whistleblowing, fraud, personal auditor characteristics, auditor ethical sensitivity, auditor ethical conflict, ethical climate and underreporting of time. Moreover, the rapidly changing business environment necessitates the auditing ethics research to move to more practical implications to mitigate previous mistakes and avoid any future risks.Originality/value - All crises are an ideal breeding ground to motivate fraud and audit failures. In fact, auditing ethics research has been subordinated to the different economic crises. However, despite increasing awareness of the topic's relevance, no comprehensive study focuses on auditing ethics literature. Now, the devastating effects of the COVID-19 crisis are producing a new wave of financial distresses and avoiding former mistakes is timelier than ever. With this novel and integrated approach, this work goes one step forward, developing a comprehensive picture of the auditing ethics literature.

COVID-19 and the accounting impact during pandemic times

The purpose of this article is to study the regulations related to environmental accounting. For this purpose, environmental background, a definition of environmental accounting, Venezuelan legal framework, and the regulatory framework established in the Environmental Auditing Standards (ISA 1010) were developed.

Single Audits Are Not What They Used to Be: Certified Public Accountant

Single Audits Pre-COVID-19 The Single Audit Act requires that audits be performed annually, except for certain entities that have been grandfathered in for biennial audits, on behalf of all federal agencies by independent accounting firms or by individual states' internal auditors. Most of these awards were granted in 2021;however, this program was not included in the 2021 OMB Supplement. [...]auditors had to determine which compliance requirements needed to be tested using Part 7 and Part 3 of the supplement. Typically, the audit threshold for a single or program-specific audit of federal awards is based on expenditures. Because for-profit entities are not required to adhere to the audit requirements in 2 CFR Part 200, the SBA has the flexibility to define audit requirements and thresholds specific to the SVOG program. [...]the SBA has defined the audit threshold for a for-profit entity that has received an SVOG award based on the GAAP principle of revenue recognition, specifically applied to recognition of an SVOG award.

BRIEF OF CONTRACTOR-APPELLANT, DEMOCRACY WORLDWIDE

Dep'ts and Agencies (Jan. 05, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01 /M-21-11.pdf 226 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), USAID (Mar. 21, 2020), https:/ www.usaid.gov/coronavirus [http://web.archive.org /web/20200321032153] 217 U.S. Gov't Accountability Off., GAO-12-331G, Government Auditing Standards (2018) 218 OTHER AUTHORITIES Advice on the Use of Masks in the Community, During Home Care, and in Health Care Settings in the Context of COVID-19, WHO (Mar. 19, 2020), https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331493 /WHO-2019-nCoV-IPC_Masks-2020.2-eng.pdf?sequence= 14&isAllowed=y 218 Amindeh Blaise Atabong, In Cameroon, Face Masks Are Compulsory-But Unaffordable for Many, Mail & Guardian (Apr. 18, 2020), https:// mg.co.za/article/2020-04-18-in-cameroon-face-masks-are -compulsory-but-unaffordable-for-many 217, 218 Cost of Living in Yaounde, Numbeo, https://www.numbeo.com/cost -of-living/in/Yaounde-Cameroon (last visited Mar. 5, 2021) 218 Fadela Chaib, Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment Endangering Health Workers Worldwide, WHO (Mar. 02, 2020), https://www .who.int/news/item/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective -equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide 217 How COVID-19 Spreads, CDC (last updated Oct. 28, 2020), https:// www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how -COVID-spreads.html. 216 How Much Water Do You Use at Home?, U.S. Geological Surv. (last visited Mar. 5, 2021), https://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity -percapita.php 218 Scott S. Sheffler, A Reasoned Case for a "Grant Disputes Act," 47 Pub. L.J. 209 (2018) 207 STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES Pursuant to Rule 47.5 of the Federal Circuit Rules of Practice, Democracy Worldwide is unaware of another appeal in or from the same civil action or proceeding in the lower court or body that was previously before this Court or another appellate court. In November 2019, the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, which is part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), announcing that USAID had $8,000,000 for human rights programming awards to increase protection for human rights defenders in Central Africa. Democracy Worldwide proposed a program to support human rights defenders in Cameroon by strengthening the normative frameworks and institutional architecture that would help Cameroon respect its human rights obligations and by building the capacity of civil society actors to promote those rights, monitor compliance, and demand accountability.

Transformation Processes of Audit in Covid-19 Conditions

The article examines the features of the financial audit traditional forms transformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The peculiarities of conducting a financial audit in compliance with quarantine restrictions are considered. The advantages and prospects of implementing agile-audit in Ukraine are analyzed. The need to introduce the institute of electronic audit as one of the methods to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy of Ukraine has been identified. It is noted that one of the elements of combating the consequences of COVID-19 is the use of digital technologies in compliance with tax legislation, namely electronic audit of business entities. It is determined that the content of electronic audit is the use of a specialized tax file Standard Audit File for Tax, which will allow auditors to freely obtain information for tax audits. The current normative and legal regulation of the functioning of the institute of electronic audit in Ukraine is studied, as well as draft laws aimed at improving the normative regulation of electronic audit. A number of measures have been proposed to improve audit processes to prevent the consequences of the pandemic and the full implementation of electronic audit in the traditional system of verification and tax payers activities. It is concluded that the quarantine audit can no longer be performed by traditional methods and it is determined that them a inform of audit is remote audit, which, despite the restrictions, should be conducted in accordance with established international standards, considering pandemic restrictions. It is proposed to consolidate the concept of "electronic audit" at the legislative level to start the functioning of electronic audit in Ukraine;at the regulatory level to determine the structure of the Ukrainian version of the specialized tax audit file SAFTUA, to form a phased procedure for electronic audit;develop an accurate plan for the implementation of electronic audit institute;develop appropriate software for auditors. Among other things, it was deemed necessary to provide special training courses for auditors in order to acquaint the latter with the new audit procedure. It is concluded that conducting an agile audit can allow for an effective audit and become a key element of business success.

The Next Chapter in Global Compliance Auditing

The recent COVID-19 pandemic spurred evolutionary changes to how risk management programs are executed across the globe. As companies responded to the effects the virus had on their operations, they also had to continue their compliance verifications despite the inability of audit teams to visit sites for a first-hand evaluation of program status. Audit teams were driven to innovate to accomplish their mission. This metamorphosis has forever changed the process by which compliance auditing is conducted. These methodologies continue to evolve as the pandemic endures. This article will discuss the author's views of advancements in compliance auditing as a direct result of the pandemic. It will feature tools that have been developed, including planning tips, audit strategies, auditor utilization, and various concepts that audit teams can employ. The author will explain how she believes these aspects will affect the future of post-pandemic compliance auditing, particularly focusing on auditing for Process Safety Management (PSM) system requirements. © 2022 AIChE Spring Meeting and 18th Global Congress on Process Safety, GCPS 2022. All rights reserved.

Effect of Covid-19 on Audit Evidence Collection and Its Relationship with Fraud Detection

During the COVID-19, mostly human activities were hampered. In the heat of the Pandemic, human activities are encouraged to follow the Work from Home (WFH) policy. This creates obstacles to the process of collecting company data by the accountants for audit purposes by the auditors. The Auditors also have to make sure of the sufficiency and relevancy of the audit process that has been determined. In addition to collecting data for auditing, the auditor must also have to be able to detect potential fraud that occurs, With the Work from Home (WFH) policy which indirectly affects the movement of the auditors due to the existence of these limitations become it becomes a new challenge for auditors to continue to be able to detect potential fraud and it is hoped that later the results of the audit will meet with the financial statements users expectation. © 2022 ACM.

Clients' digitalization, audit firms' digital expertise, and audit quality: evidence from China

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether clients' degree of digitalization and audit firms' expertise in information technology (IT) influence audit quality (AQ).Design/methodology/approachData of Chinese A-share firms listed on the primary board of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2011 to 2019 are taken as the sample. All the data are obtained from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research. Clients' digitalization is determined using the keywords "AI technology,” "blockchain,” "cloud computing,” "big data technology” and "digital technology.” Auditor firm's digital expertise is determined by the proportion of higher IT expertise. As the proxy for AQ, this study uses audit fees, given that its quantum reflects the effort auditors expend that in turn affects the AQ.FindingsA fixed-effect regression model shows that clients with high digitalization attain AQ. This study also finds a significant and positive coefficient of audit fees, indicating that AQ is high in the same situation if an audit firm's IT is mature and developed. Furthermore, results confirm the moderating effect of clients' digitalization and auditors' expertise and on AQ. Auditors' expertise in IT mitigates the audit risk and increase AQ.Originality/valueFindings can enhance AQ and corporate governance literature by clarifying how external audits must evolve through digitalization and incorporating newly developed digital tools such as big data, analytics, artificial intelligence and robotic process automation. This study also provides important insights regarding how the development of new digital tools allow the audit profession to perform as a corporate governance mechanism.

ceo message: The Year of Internal Audit

Pugliese focuses on the year of internal audit. For the first time in three years, they begin a year with something other than COVID-19 as the undisputed main headline. To be clear, COVID remains one of the top issues, and it continues to have global implications on everything from supply chains to budgets. But, after years of dealing with the pandemic, businesses have mostly accounted for COVID-based disruptions and incorporated adjustments and accommodations into their business plans. Businesses are now beginning to return to operations that resemble pre-COVID "normalcy," and 2023 is a blank slate that presents internal auditors with a tremendous opportunity to reaffirm our value and claim our space in emerging areas. Top issues for the year once again include cybersecurity, ESG topics, and fraud, not to mention increased scrutiny on cryptocurrencies following the FTX collapse. With a spotlight on these issues, their profession is sure to remain front and center.

Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect auditors' client acceptance and continuance decision-making process?

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the first stage of external audit, namely, on the auditors' client acceptance and continuance decisions (CACDs). Design/methodology/approach: Survey data was collected on the basis of a structured questionnaire, which was answered by 21.02% of the Greek certified auditors/accountants. Parametric hypothesis testing and regression analysis were used in data analysis. Findings: The results of the survey showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a different impact on the client acceptance decision-making (CAD) process and the client continuance decision-making (CCD) process. The CAD process appears to have been affected in a mostly negative way, and to a greater extent than is the case with the CCD process. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the CACD process appears to be mainly related to the difficulty arising in auditor–client communication. Additionally, as far as the CAD process is concerned, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have had a negative impact on the audit fees, while, when it comes to the CCD process, the pandemic has had a positive impact with regard to clientele expansion. Finally, survey findings showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected in a different way Big6 and non-Big6 auditors. Originality/value: The present study aspires to fill significant gaps identified in relevant literature with regard to auditors' work in correlation with the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, to the best of the author's knowledge, it is the first study exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the first stage of external audit. Moreover, the study is based on primary data collected in real time, under the actual conditions of emergency related to the health crisis. Last but not least, the findings of the present study could be of value to professionals and regulative authorities in case of similar future emergencies or potential crisis situations. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

In celebration of providing the South and southern African sugar industry with more than 20 years of accredited quality analysis of mixed juice, molasses and sugar

The Sugar Milling Research Institute NPC (SMRI) has provided the South and southern African sugar industry with analytical services for more than 50 years. The need for an internationally-recognised quality assurance system to provide SMRI members and their customers with the necessary confidence in the results that they were receiving was recognised more than 25 years ago, and it culminated in the SMRI Analytical Services Division achieving ISO/IEC Guide 25:1990 accreditation in 1998. The SMRI analytical laboratory has since successfully progressed through the ISO/IEC 17025:1999 and ISO/IEC 17025:2005 iterations to the current ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard. The SMRI has therefore had to continually expand the scope of its systems over the past 25 years, in order to match the updated requirements. The system is used for the analysis of weekly composite mixed juice and final molasses samples from all the SMRI South African member mills and some southern African member mills. Similarly, raw and white sugar analyses are conducted, with the reporting of results to the members' specifications. Critical to the accuracy of these results is the continual auditing and monitoring of the methods, equipment and chemical solutions that are used in the analysis methods. This is achieved by using Certified Reference Materials and control samples, as well as participating in internationally-recognised analytical proficiency schemes. Critical to the success of the laboratory in maintaining its accreditation is the competence of the laboratory staff who undergo continual training and assessments. This was demonstrated in 2020 and 2021, when they were able to continue providing the necessary services, despite the challenges faced during the Covid pandemic.

The Utilization of Blockchain Technology on Remote Audit to Ensure Audit Data Integrity in Detecting Potential Fraudulent Financial Reporting

The rapid evolution of technology has massively changed and shaped audit work culture. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak significantly changed audit and control activities, encouraging auditors to audit clients remotely and forcing auditors to adopt advanced digital technology, especially blockchain-based technology. Blockchain is one decentralized, transparent, and immutable technology that plays an essential role and has an aggressive impact in the audit field. The implementation and adoption of cognitive technologies such as blockchain in the remote audit process allow auditors to access various client data and information in real-time, ensure audit data integrity, review and process data documentation quickly, obtaining data directly without third parties that make it easier for auditors to obtain audit evidence instantly and accurately in detecting any anomalies. This research aims to identify and navigate how blockchain assists auditors in performing remote audits, ensuring data integrity, detecting fraudulent financial reporting, elaborating on factors that influence the auditor's success in using blockchain, and identifying challenges auditors face during blockchain utilization in their remote audits. This research used a descriptive qualitative approach by obtaining primary data from profound interview results with several auditors experienced in using blockchain. We also used secondary data from journals, papers, articles, books, and relevant websites. The research findings showed that blockchain's unique characteristics greatly assist auditors in conducting remote audits, ensuring audit data integrity, and detecting fraudulent financial reporting in various ways. Furthermore, various factors influence blockchain utilization, such as human resources aspects, the effectiveness of the IT control environment, and the CPA size firm. Lastly, auditors should face several challenges in the present and future. © 2022 ACM.

Antibiotic point prevalence survey at a tertiary healthcare hospital in India: Identifying strategies to improve the antibiotic stewardship program immediately after a COVID-19 wave.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected the antibiotic stewardship activities in most hospitals of India. Aims: We conducted an antibiotic point prevalence survey (PPS) immediately after the decline of a major COVID-19 wave at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital. By doing so we aimed to identify the antibiotic prescription patterns, identify factors influencing the choice of antibiotics, and identify/develop strategies to improve the antibiotic stewardship program in such setups. Methods: The PPS was single-centred, cross-sectional, and retrospective in nature. Patients admitted in various wards and intensive care units (ICUs) between September 2021 to October 2021 were included in our PPS. Results: Of the included 460 patients, 192 were prescribed antibiotics. Of these 192 patients, ICU-admitted patients had the highest number of antibiotics prescribed i.e. 2.09 ± 0.92. Only a minor fraction (7.92 %) of antibiotics prescriptions were on the basis of culture reports. Most of the antibiotics were prescribed empirically by the parenteral route. The most common group of antibiotics prescribed were third-generation cephalosporins. Carbapenems were the most common designated antibiotics prescribed. A large number of patients (22.40 %) were prescribed a double anaerobic coverage. Conclusion: The strategies that we identified to improve the antibiotic stewardship program at our institute included reviving the culture of sending culture reports to prescribe antibiotics, improving surgical prophylaxis guidelines, training resident doctors to categorize antibiotic prescriptions appropriately, closely monitoring prescriptions providing double anaerobic coverage, and improving the electronic medical record system for improving prescription auditing.

Ciphertext-policy attribute-based encryption supporting policy-hiding and cloud auditing in smart health

Smart Health, with its flexibility and efficiency, has been widely deployed, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, privacy protection mechanisms for Smart Health are not yet well established and still present a number of security issues. Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE), is identified as the furthest potential approach for constructing privacy-preserving Smart Health. However, traditional CP-ABE is facing some new challenges. On the one hand, access policy is not encrypted, and the identity information of the user could be exposed. On the other hand, Smart Health Records (SHRs) are outsourced to the Cloud Service Providers (CSP) and may be at risk of being tampered with. In this article, we have built a CP-ABE solution (PHCA) that supports policy-hiding and cloud auditing to ensure privacy security for smart health, in which the decryption cost is constant. To ensure data integrity, we securely introduce an effective third-party auditor. In addition, we design and implement safe and effective outsourcing decryption algorithms, which significantly low the decryption costs for users. Performance comparisons and security analysis demonstrate that our solutions function effectively. • We propose a CP-ABE scheme (PHCA) that supports policy-hiding and cloud auditing. • Our scheme ensures data integrity and privacy. • Our scheme is proven secure under dual-system encryption technique. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Auditors' response to regulators during COVID-19: disclosures of key audit matters

PurposeNew Zealand regulatory bodies guided preparers and auditors of financial statements to deal with potential COVID-19 impacts on the financial statements and audit procedures. This study provides evidence of auditors' response to the impact of COVID-19 on the reporting of key audit matters (KAMs) in audit reports of listed companies in New Zealand. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 50 New Zealand listed companies was selected to compare the KAMs in 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and 2020 (during COVID-19). The study uses content analysis to evaluate the KAMs' disclosures and descriptive analysis to examine the differences between 2019 and 2020 in terms of the auditor type, industry sector and accounting standards.FindingsAuditors responded positively to the request from regulators to communicate the impacts of COVID-19. The findings show an increase in the amount and length of KAMs in 2020 compared to 2019, with 82% of companies and 61% of KAMs reporting the impact of COVID-19. The real estate and information technology sectors disclosed more on the impact than other sectors. In analysing the KAMs, accounting standards for inventories, property plant and equipment, impairment of assets, investment property, revenue from contracts with customers and leases were highly affected by COVID-19.Practical implicationsThe findings support regulators to evaluate how well auditors communicated matters relating to COVID-19 in the audit report. Also, the findings will help standard setters to identify key accounting standards affected by COVID-19 of KAMs and provide insights to users on how the KAM reporting enhances communicative value during the pandemic.Originality/valueThe current study captures the impact of COVID-19 on the reporting of KAMs by comparing changes before and during the pandemic.