Covid-19 pandemic repercussions on the environment and external audit activities with an exploratory study from the Egyptian professional practice environment

This study aimed to identify the most important implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on the external auditing environment and activities in the Egyptian environment in the light of Egyptian and international auditing standards. To achieve this goal, the researchers tried to identify the most important problems and challenges that the external auditor may face when engagement with audits in light of the virus outbreak, with suggesting some mechanisms that may help auditors to overcome these problems and challenges. To conduct the exploratory study, a sample of 59 external auditors in the Egyptian audit firms was selected, as well as 72 researchers interested in accounting and auditing. The study concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic will create many problems and challenges for the external auditor, the most important of which are: the necessity of continuous updating of the audit plan, the high level of audit risk, insufficient and appropriate usual audit procedures, problems of audit the components of the group, assessing the company's ability to continue, Problems audit subsequent events, auditing accounting estimates, and problems with amending the audit report. These problems and challenges can be overcome through the following mechanisms: the auditor obtaining written representations from management and governance officials with continuous communication with them, the auditor usinging a high level of professional skepticism and judgment, seeking the help of experts' work, maintaining professional ethics and independence requirements, the auditor adheres to a high level of audit quality, Conformity between Egyptian and international auditing standards, designing and performing additional auditing procedures using electronic technics, expanding the disclosure of the key audit matters with the audit report, giving sufficient time for auditors to complete their work, the need to review the qualification the scientific and practical guidance of the auditors, the use of the work of the internal auditors, the adoption of the risk-based audit approach.