As companies prepare to report another quarter of doing business in a pandemic, they have the benefit of drawing on the experiences and lessons learned from the last two quarters. It is important that companies reflect on the lessons learned and foresee what financial reporting issues may lie ahead, the accounting topics that are going to be trending, the related challenges that will arise and ways to resolve them in order to avoid business disruption and continue creating value.

A recurring theme of the myriad of financial reporting issues associated with COVID-19 is the need for robust and transparent disclosure and communication. Given the continuous and rapidly evolving economic impact of the pandemic, management should consider how it can provide timely updates to stakeholders and investors regarding the pandemic’s current and future impact on the company, as well as share plans, to the best extent possible, to evolve and thrive regardless of industry.

There are three broad-based categories of communications that companies should focus on, especially as they are wrapping up Q2 and hurtling towards Q3: transparent disclosures regarding key assumptions and critical estimates, communications around non-GAAP measures, and effective COVID-19.

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