Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire concerning the Certified Public Accountants’ (CPA) perception(s) regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and to provide insights into this issue. A questionnaire was developed combining the key aspects of professional guidelines, prior literature, and experts’ opinions. Our study focuses on the perceptions of Greek CPAs, ensuring the validity and reliability of the instrument used through a robust methodology incorporating techniques from classical test theory and factor analysis. The final questionnaire has 18 questions and 4 main sub-sections (Work and organizational environment, Audit planning, Field work and Audit report). All sub-sections of the questionnaire achieved an acceptable internal reliability value. Construct validity was confirmed via factor analysis. Insights from the data analysis illustrate that Work and organizational environment and Audit planning explain the greatest variance during the first wave of the pandemic in Greece. The results have important implications for CPAs, practitioners, audit firms and regulators who wish to enhance the effectiveness of the auditing profession and the quality of financial information. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that reflects the Covid-19 crisis for the perspective of CPAs. This instrument can be used, if properly modified, as a measurement tool on CPAs perceptions on future crisis.

Key words: Covid-19, Certified Public Accountants, auditors, questionnaires, crisis, stressful events.