Accounting and Financial Reporting during a Pandemic

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss how a pandemic affects the nature of financial reporting especially for financial and non-financial institutions that were deeply affected by the 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. I show that accounting practices or techniques such as fair value accounting, big bath earnings management, loss avoidance and income smoothing techniques can help to dampen the effect of a pandemic on firm performance. Some implications about the merits and risks of accounting during a pandemic are highlighted and discussed.