On April 3, 2020, the SEC’s Chief Accountant, Sagar Teotia, issued a Statement on the Importance of High-Quality Financial Reporting in Light of the Significant Impacts of COVID-19.
The OCA Statement emphasizes that while the SEC Office of the Chief Accountant appreciates the challenging environment that companies and their auditors face in attempting to comply with their financial reporting obligations due to COVID-19, and will not second-guess their reasonable judgments, OCA expects financial reporting to continue to “provide investors with high-quality financial information.” The OCA Statement also reaffirms OCA’s views on the importance of gatekeepers by pointing out the critical need for auditor independence in this uncertain economic environment. In addition to this general theme, the OCA Statement contains several notable points that will have implications for companies in the current situation, both in preparing their financial statements, and in taking steps to mitigate litigation and enforcement risk.
Click here, to continue reading on the Cleary Enforcement Watch blog.