Factors influencing decision to issue going concern opinion in the post-Covid-19 era: Malaysian evidence

Going concern opinion is vital in providing awareness to shareholders about a company's financial position since it serves as a warning of potential bankruptcy. Yet, assessing and issuing going concern opinions remain the most challenging ambiguous audit tasks in normal circumstances and during a crisis. The post-COVID-19 era, where companies strive to sustain their businesses, created a new problem and further intensified auditors' challenges in deciding whether to issue or not to issue going concern opinion. Acknowledging studies examining the going concern issues are still underrepresented, especially in Malaysia; this study elucidates factors influencing auditors' decision to issue going concern opinions. Applying a qualitative methodology, findings indicate that historical information about the company, industry risk and firm size are the three influencing factors in deciding the issuance of going concern opinions.