The Korean Accounting Association Hosts Webinar on 'Accounting System Reform' in the COVID-19 Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] The Korean Accounting Association announced on the 12th that it held a webinar on the theme of accounting system reform in the era of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the 11th. A webinar is a compound word of web and seminar.

This webinar addressed issues in financial statement preparation and audit practices that may arise in the event of a natural disaster close to the COVID-19 situation, where physical movement is difficult. It also discussed issues related to investor protection systems and the legal responsibilities of stakeholders involved in the accounting information production process, as well as practical and policy issues related to the change in the business report submission period due to the amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Commercial Act in December last year.

The webinar was held in a model linking the offline meeting room of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry with online participation. In particular, many stakeholders from related accounting practical fields attended both offline and online, making it a knowledge-sharing venue surpassing offline academic conferences.

The keynote speakers were Professor Jong-seong Park of Sookmyung Women’s University and Partner Seong-yeon Jo of EY Han Young Accounting Corporation, who explained "Problems and Improvement Measures of Business Report Submission Before the General Meeting of Shareholders" and "Accounting, Audit, and Institutional Considerations in the Event of Natural Disasters."

Professor Jong-seong Park raised the issue of whether the fiscal year-end should be the dividend record date in his presentation. He argued that to prevent conflicts between the Commercial Act and the Capital Markets Act, it is necessary to revise regulations on securities issuance and disclosure, as well as the standards for preparing corporate disclosure forms.

Partner Seong-yeon Jo analyzed the expected accounting issues in the event of natural disasters such as the COVID-19 era, including the impacts on financial statements such as impairment review, expected credit loss, operating profit and loss, and fair value measurement, as well as the effects on accounting audits. From a regulatory perspective, he emphasized the need to consider postponing the statutory deadline for audit reports, delaying the introduction of internal accounting audits, easing market sanctions, and changing the timing and methods of inspections.

In the subsequent panel discussion, moderated by Vice President Jaehwan Park of the Korean Accounting Association (Professor at Chung-Ang University), six designated panelists including Kang-hyun Ahn (Professor at Yonsei University Law School), Young-han Lee (Professor at University of Seoul), Se-bong Heo (Deputy CEO of Samjong Accounting Corporation), Young-hoon Kim (Partner at Deloitte Anjin Accounting Corporation), and Sun-moon Kim (Team Leader at Financial Services Commission), along with about 200 online panelists from academia and practice who had pre-registered, participated in the discussion.

Jung Seok-woo, President of the Accounting Association, stated, "The process of overcoming the COVID-19 situation has been an opportunity to experience how important transparency is," and added, "I hope this accounting reform seminar will help improve the accounting transparency of our companies so that the time when the value of our companies is properly evaluated will come sooner."

The third webinar, scheduled for June 25, will be prepared as a new form of global comprehensive academic conference with participation from world-renowned accounting researchers both online and offline. The Korean Accounting Association is the largest academic organization in Korea leading related fields, with members not only from the educational sector but also from accounting, tax-related industries, and policy sectors, reflecting the practical nature of accounting as a discipline.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.