AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF ENTERPRISES IN THE CONDITIONS OF MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

The article is devoted to the topical issues of auditing financial statements of enterprises in the front-line territories of Ukraine under martial law. The regulatory and legal regulation of auditing activities during the period of martial law is analyzed. The problems of conducting an audit in the front-line territory during the war are investigated: lack of safe access to assets, limited long-term forecasting of the enterprise's activities, limited access to accounting documents, reduction in the scope of audit and shortage of qualified personnel. It was found that these problems directly limit the auditor in obtaining sufficient and acceptable audit evidence, which is the basis for modifying the report in the form of a disclaimer of opinion. A set of scientific and practical recommendations based on the synergy of digital technologies and adaptive methods of collecting evidence is proposed. In particular, the following are proposed: the use of remote methods of asset verification, full migration to cloud servers, expansion of the scope of external confirmation procedures, the use of continuity scenario modeling, and a systematic increase in the level of digital competencies of auditors. It is substantiated that the use of the proposed recommendations allows the auditor to collect the necessary array of alternative evidence to transform the type of modified opinion - from a complete refusal to a qualified opinion, which increases the quality of the audit opinion and the transparency of financial information in extreme conditions. This contributes to a partial restoration of the trust of external users, as financial statements acquire the status of acceptable for analysis, and transparency regarding specific risk areas allows users to make informed economic decisions. A promising direction for further research is the development and justification of specific changes to national regulatory legal acts and international audit standards that would regulate the use of remote evidence collection methods as a full-fledged alternative to traditional procedures, especially in conditions of force majeure and military conflicts.