It is clear that crises directly or indirectly affect all companies and all employees. But how has the COVID-19 crisis affected accounting? What are we doing differently now and how do we work?
Working remotely
At the beginning of the pandemic, many professions quickly reoriented and learnt about the possibilities of working remotely. In a short period of time they had to learn to communicate and work remotely. Accountants were no exception, which is why electronic documents went on a victory march. Also, those accountants who had been accustomed to working the same as before, using piles of paper documents, had to learn to work with specialised accounting programs and electronic documents, which is a great benefit for companies in general, as it significantly increases productivity. Now the exchange of documents can take place faster and easier.
Support measures
Of course, the day-to-day responsibilities of accountants do not change significantly during a crisis. The same as before, each company has income and expenses, which must be properly reflected in the systems. Also, the dates for submitting the reports have largely remained the same, therefore the work of the accountants continues under any circumstances. However, some positive developments can be observed, such as the extension of the deadline for submitting annual reports for the second year in a row. But this was not the only introduction. In difficult times the state offers various support measures to companies in difficulty, therefore accountants had to think about how to record them and use them accordingly. The preparation of documents for support is also mainly the responsibility of the accountants. And how to record furlough time or calculate the average earnings? All this suggests that the workload of accountants has even increased.
Changes in taxes
Changes in taxes have also been implemented during this time. Any changes simply mean that accountants need to understand the amendments to the law, and how to apply them in practice. It is not an easy task. For example, starting from 1 July, the procedure for paying social tax, the calculation of royalties, the application of VAT to shipments from abroad, and other aspects have changed. The team of Corsax.lv is constantly learning and improving, so that it is always up to date with the latest changes and can also inform their customers about them.