the Profound Account of the Virus Hunter's Personal Battle with COVID...After fighting viruses all over the world for more than 40 years, I have become an expert in infections. I’m glad I had corona and not Ebola, although I read a scientific study yesterday that concluded you have a 30% chance of dying if you end up in a British hospital with COVID-19. That’s about the same overall mortality rate as for Ebola in 2014 in West Africa...Many people think COVID-19 kills 1% of patients, and the rest get away with some flulike symptoms. But the story gets more complicated. Many people will be left with chronic kidney and heart problems...Let’s be clear: Without a coronavirus vaccine, we will never be able to live normally again...Today there’s also the paradox that some people who owe their lives to vaccines no longer want their children to be vaccinated. That could become a problem if we want to roll out a vaccine against the coronavirus..."
"Time's Up?" - Evaluating the Value for Money (VFM) of Board governance
In principle, a Board's VFM to stakeholders is the ratio of gross value-added (GVA) to gross cost (GC). So, the evaluation of board effectiveness/VFM should ideally include the experienced and skilled estimates of both factors.
This GC research that is being updated contributes to that process and should be replicated in other contexts. Of course, the reasonable assessment of GVA is much more fiendishly difficult!
It is, however, increasingly evident that many traditional models of the evaluation of Board GVA are unduly narrow in scope and can benefit from the insights of modern social and business behavioural sciences. Given the increasingly worrisome impact of corporate behaviour on the sustainability of societies and on the natural environment, the time for 20th century evaluations of Board GVA must surely have ended. Nature's unleashing of COVID 19 is surely a declaration to humanity of "time's up"!
Responsible Boards will be demanding insights that deploy credible social and business science knowledge to assist them in the effective discharge of their duty of care to all stakeholders.
The Inconveniently Independent Non-Executive Director (INED)
A nugget of a 2018 article. Reminds us of the old drive for INEDs in the Global North: "...boards were...mere extensions of management, a kind of...business celebrity cheerleaders..." In parts of the Global South, the "cheerleading" view still prevails; perhaps due to cultures that hail "the chief" with disdain for "checks and balances". So, overconcentration of corporate power may be relatively unchecked. Mind you, Northern INEDs have had a hard time: "...when the shit hits the fan, [INEDs] are expected to move into high gear, forming special committees that essentially take control of the investigation while conflicted board members recuse themselves... " This is familiar to the unpopular, principled, INED on a Southern Board. When "cheerleading" is loudest, s/he is derided. When predictable trouble emerges, s/he has to salvage his reputation. Bottom line: a principled, competent and experienced, INED is worth his weight in gold to a discerning, stakeholder-serving board. I should know: I hired one for my start-up Board: a valuable "headache"!!
English Institute of Chartered Accountants issues guide to users in understanding audit opinions influenced by COVID 19
English Institute of Chartered Accountants issues guide to users in understanding audit opinions influenced by COVID 19
"...while COVID-19 will affect businesses in different ways and to different degrees, it is likely to have a significant impact on audit reports on company financial statements for the foreseeable future.
The FAQs below, created by the Audit and Assurance Faculty, are designed to help investors and other users of audit reports to better understand the different types of audit report wordings used by auditors, and their significance.
How might COVID-19 impact audit reports?
We expect to see more ‘modified’ audit opinions as a result of COVID-19. The possible types of audit opinions that auditors may give are explained below.
We also expect to see more ‘material uncertainties’ highlighted in audit reports in relation to going concern, and more ‘emphases of matter’. These do not, however, modify the audit opinion. These are also explained below.
For listed entities and other public interest entities, we are likely to see more ‘key audit matters’ (sometimes referred to as ‘KAM’) included by auditors... "
IASB Exposure Draft on COVID related Rent Concessions
The International Accounting Standards Board (Board) is seeking feedback on the Exposure Draft Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions. The Exposure Draft sets out a proposal to permit lessees, as a practical expedient, not to assess whether particular covid-19-related rent concessions are a lease modification and, instead, account for those rent concessions as if they were not lease modifications.
The deadline for submitting comments on the Exposure Draft is 8 May 2020. The Board will consider feedback on the Exposure Draft in developing its final requirements. The Board plans to issue final amendments by the end of May 2020.