A new mindset for the independent audit during the times of pandemic crisis

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak that occurred in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 caused changes in many areas. Although remote audit has been a topic that both academicians and practitioners have spoken about in recent years, many application alternatives are also offered regarding this issue. Although some of these alternatives have been put into practice, discussions continue about some of them. With the implementation of the remote (from home) working strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic period, it has become necessary to implement remote audit and make the necessary arrangements quickly. In this process, independent auditing standards must continue to be fit for purpose in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and that audit quality is maintained to the extent before the outbreak in the current uncertain environment. The purpose of this study is to create a perspective on which issues should be considered in the audit process within the scope of independent audit during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which direction arrangements are made within the framework of technological opportunities and independent auditing standards.  This study is a review article, and in line with the purpose of the study, it was created by scanning the relevant literature. As a result of the study, it was found that arrangements were made within the scope of ISA 315-330-540-560-570-600-700-720 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, technology has been found to help in the fields such as evidence collecting, counting, conducting interviews, and various applications. At this point, auditors should pay attention to new risks that may arise from using technology.