Audit materiality: the impact of COVID-19

The article attempts to focus on the problem of judgments about the level of materiality in the audit in the turbulent conditions of COVID-19. We summarized the information obtained as a result of interviews with individuals representing certain groups of stakeholders in the audit services market - leading audit experts, senior auditors, auditors and representatives of audited companies. In general, stakeholders believe that the concepts and changes related to the materiality of the audit and COVID-19 are already taken into account in existing and applied methods. At the same time, as a result of the analysis, we identified two main areas in determining the level of materiality during the audit, which were affected by COVID-19. The first direction concerns the revision of significant indicators to determine the level of materiality, the second direction is associated with percentage fluctuations to calculate the level of materiality. In addition, we have summarized the main factors that are subject to analysis as part of determining overall materiality and performance materiality. This study not only provides an opportunity for participants in the audit industry to speak, but also contributes to understanding the concept of audit materiality (the concept that has appeared in Russian practice since 1996).