Auditing Financial Statements during Covid-19 Outbreak: Case Study in ABC Indonesian Public Accounting Firm

This study explores approaches taken by auditors in ABC Public Accounting Firm in responding to audit of financial statements during the COVID-19 outbreak and comparing them to several Indonesian Public Accounting Firms. The qualitative approach was used in this case study. Data analysis was examined by conducting participatory interviews with auditors in ABC and collecting questionnaires survey to twelve respondents in six Indonesian Public Accounting Firms. This study shows an increment in audit risk since most of the audit clients experienced a declining financial statements performance during the outbreak, which requires a corroborative review of going concern assessment. Increment of going concern risk level also required further reviews of subsequent events assessment to obtain reliable and sufficient audit evidence. In certain cases, auditor needs to consider the necessity of additional financial statements disclosure and additional emphasis paragraph on the auditor's report. Furthermore, technology platform acceleration has a significant role as an alternative to obtain audit evidence during the outbreak. More audit processes are carried out online and an extensive communication between auditors and audit clients is required when the audit deadline needs to be rescheduled to comply with the audited financial statements submission requirement to the regulator. In this case, the regulator had responded by extending the period to submit audited financial statements during the outbreak. This research is expected to have implications for future studies on auditing financial statements during the COVID-19 outbreak and recommend alternative approaches to increase audit efficiency during normal circumstances.