La transition vers le télétravail lors de la crise du Covid-19 : comment les auditeurs externes ont-il perçu ces changements dans leurs modes de travail ?

Abstract

For several decades, companies have been facing an unstable and uncertain external environment. The ever-changing workplace is full of challenges and contingencies which companies must adapt to. As a result of the sudden COVID-19 outbreak, companies around the world have had to radically rethink their organisation and working methods. The financial audit profession has not been spared by this health crisis. Government restrictions on travel and social contacts have forced audit firms to focus their efforts on finding an alternative to on-site auditing. To mitigate the spread of illness and ensure employee safety, working from home has become the norm. In this regard, this brief examines the perceptions of external auditors regarding this transition to remote auditing and questions the prospects of the profession. Through a literature review on the specifics of the auditor profession and on the New Ways of Working, we try to understand the traditional working methods of the auditors and to analyse their applicability to the new ways of working which require more flexibility and are human-centred. Although the scale of the pandemic is significant, we believe that the shock to the auditors in their work patterns is less significant. To confirm this hypothesis, a qualitative study among professionals of the trade is carried out. Nomadic workers accustomed to technology and armed with adequate equipment for working remotely, the results obtained are evidence of their adaptability, which played an important role during this transitional period. However, this change in their working methods reveals flaws which we had not necessarily thought of. The breakdown of social contacts is the main difficulty encountered by most of the auditors who participated in the study. For reasons of efficiency and mental health, remote auditing is far from being feasible on a full-time basis. To address this, auditors feel ready and prepared to turn to a hybrid work model, with a shared presence between the office and the client. Envious of flexibility and well-being at work, the auditors realize that this pandemic has finally made it possible to make a leap forward.