The acceptance and adoption of continuous auditing by internal auditors: A micro analysis

The umbrella of “advanced technology” covers a range of techniques widely used in the U.S. to provide strategic advantage in a very competitive business environment. There is an enormous amount of information contained within current-generation information systems, some of which is processed on a real-time basis. More importantly, the same holds true for actual business transactions. Having accurate and reliable information is vital and advantageous to businesses, especially in the wake of the recent recession. Therefore, the need for ongoing, timely assurance of information utilizing continuous auditing (CA) and continuous control monitoring (CM) methodologies is becoming more apparent. To that end, we have conducted interviews with 22 internal audit managers and 16 internal audit staff members at 9 leading internal audit organizations to examine the status of technology adoption, to evaluate the development of continuous auditing, and to assess the use of continuous control monitoring. We found that several companies in our study were already involved in some form of continuous auditing or control monitoring while others are attempting to adopt more advanced audit technologies. We also made a large number of surprising observations on managerial, technology training and absorption, and other issues. According to our audit maturity model, all of the companies were classified between the “traditional audit” stage and the “emerging stage,” not having yet reached the “continuous audit” stage. This paper,¹ to our knowledge, is the first to study CA technology adoption in a micro level by an interview approach.     

Accounting and Auditing at the Time of Blockchain Technology: A Research Agenda

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology expected to have significant impacts on the accounting and auditing profession. This study, applicable and timely for both accounting and auditing scholars and practitioners, explores blockchain technology and its main implications for the accounting and auditing profession. The research question addressed in this study is: What are the major themes emerging from academic research and professional reports and websites debating blockchain technology in the accounting and auditing context? A literature review of academic literature and professional reports and websites is performed to identify a taxonomy of emerging themes. The study finds that the most discussed themes in scholarly works and professional sources are governance, transparency and trust issues in the blockchain ecosystem, blockchain‐enabled continuous audits, smart contract applications and the paradigmatic shift in accountants' and auditors' roles. Based on these four themes, practical implications for accountants and auditors on how to approach the blockchain development are provided. Moreover, this study offers suggestions for future research on accounting and auditing in the blockchain era.     

Nonprofessional investors' perceptions of the incremental value of continuous auditing and continuous controls monitoring: An experimental investigation

In this study, we investigate nonprofessional investors' perceptions of the incremental value of additional assurance provided by continuous auditing (CA) and continuous controls monitoring (CCM) relative to traditional periodic auditing. We also examine whether nonprofessional investors' perceptions of incremental value of CA and CCM depend on whether the procedure is performed by internal or external auditors, given that external auditors are likely to be perceived as more independent and objective than internal auditors. We conduct two experiments, one using 120 nonprofessional investors recruited by a national survey company, and the second using 184 participants recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. The first experiment employed a 2 × 2 between-participants design in which we manipulate the type of assurance (CA or CCM) and the source of assurance (internal or external auditors). The second experiment was identical to the first experiment, with the addition of a fifth condition to test a conjecture stemming from the results of the first experiment. The results from both experiments indicate that although nonprofessional investors believe that continuous auditing decreases the likelihood of material errors and asset misappropriation, nonprofessional investors do not concomitantly increase their investment upon learning about the implementation of these sophisticated continuous assurance techniques. Evidence from the second experiment provides support for the contention that the reason why nonprofessional investors do not increase their investment pursuant to implementation of CA or CCM is due to the salience of the additional costs of these techniques. These results have important implications for firms considering the implementation of additional assurance procedures such as CA and CCM.     

The antecedents of the use of continuous auditing in the internal auditing context

The concept of continuous auditing originated over two decades ago. Yet despite its much touted benefits, its acceptance and use in practice has been slow. To gain insight into the state of affairs, we surveyed 210 internal auditors worldwide on the status of their use of continuous auditing. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) we explore the antecedents of internal auditors' intentions to use continuous auditing technology. Employing the Partial Least Squares method, we find strong support for the model with an R² of 44.3%. Specifically, we find that internal auditors' perceptions of effort expectancy and social influence are significant predictors of their intentions to use continuous auditing. We also find that annual sales volume of the company and voluntariness of use significantly moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and social influence respectively. Additionally, we find regional differences in the significance of key UTAUT antecedents. Specifically, we find that the North American internal auditors are more likely to use continuous auditing due to soft social coercion pressures of Social Influence through peers and higher authorities. On the other hand, Middle Eastern auditors are more likely to use the technology if it is mandated by the higher authorities.     

The impacts of electronic commerce on auditing practices: an auditing process model for evidence collection and validation

The main purposes of this paper are twofold. First, the paper identifies and discusses the potential impacts of electronic commerce on auditing practices in the emerging paperless on-line transaction environment. Second, it provides two auditing process models that incorporate modern network security techniques and show how an audit can be conducted in an EC environment. A periodical auditing process model (PAPM) is proposed to demonstrate how secure electronic technologies can be used to facilitate the auditor's evidence collection and validation process for annual and semi-annual audits. We also present a continuous auditing process model (CAPM) which extends the functions of PAPM for continuous auditing. In CAPM, a real-time transaction monitoring system is used to link to firms' accounting information systems for assisting the auditor to detect abnormal activities and generate exception reports on a continuous basis. The CAPM approach intends not only to ensure integrity and effectiveness of the entire accounting system, but also to guarantee the correctness and usefulness of the constantly generated financial statements for public dissemination. The main contribution of this paper is that it illustrates a conceptual framework which shows the feasibility of continuously auditing electronic transactions in the EC environment. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

外商投资企业亏损问题的分析与对策

本文结合在实际税收征管工作中遇到的问题,利用现代计量经济学的方法,对我国外商投资企业(以下简称“外企”)账面亏损问题进行了分析,发现主要是中小企业特别是小企业亏损面大,建议应该从抓好对信息资源的深入挖掘利用、加强系统内部和外部的工作配合、搞好征管手段的整合配置、处理好对中小税源查账征收和核定征收的关系等方面强化对中小外企所得税的征管。     

论我国商业银行内部审计制度和模式的创新

内部审计是公司治理的重要控制和监督环节,在公司治理结构中发挥着越来越重要的作用.当前,加强银行公司治理是我国商业银行改革的关键环节,如何更好地发挥内部审计在银行治理结构中的作用,从而为银行机构增加价值并促使其高效率、高质量地运转,是一个具有重要现实意义的课题.本文从既有的研究成果出发,通过考察银行治理结构和内部审计的关系及西方国家商业银行内审理念的演变趋势,针对巴塞尔新资本协议等对商业银行内审工作提出的新要求,指出我国商业银行内部审计应从财务型审计转向增值型审计,在内审理念、内审体制及方法手段等方面进行创新.     

人民银行内部实施绩效审计的探索

人民银行内部审计由传统型转向现代管理型符合内部审计的发展潮流。济南分行营业管理部为适应这一潮流,组织开展了对济南市征信管理工作的绩效审计工作。作者通过对审计实践的观察发现了人民银行绩效审计发展所取得的进步和存在的问题。本文在总结经验、分析发现的问题基础上,对可供选择的三种方案进行评价,提出了人民银行系统中心支行以上内审部门发展绩效审计的建议。     

A meta-analysis of factors affecting acceptance of information technology in auditing

Technology advancements provide opportunities for auditors to use new tools in the audit process. This study presents a synthesis of technology-related auditing research to identify factors affecting the use of technology in auditing. We analyze 88 studies in identifying 21 factors relevant to technology acceptance in auditing based on country of origin (developed or developing), user type (external or internal), type of technology (traditional or advanced), firm size (Big 4 or non-Big 4), and publication time (before and after 2013). Our results show that the most important factors in accepting technology from an individual perspective are facilitator conditions, perceived usefulness, and understanding of ease of use. Technology acceptance factors relevant to an organizational perspective are cost-benefit technology, competitive pressure, company readiness, and matching technology-task. Results suggest that perceived usefulness and subjective norm are more important in developed countries and Big 4 audit firms, while auditors in developing countries and non-Big 4 audit firms are more influenced by perceived ease of use, facilitating conditions, and organizational factors. Adopting traditional technologies is also more influenced by understanding the ease of use, subjective norms, and top management support than advanced technologies. This study contributes to the literature by assessing technology acceptance factors in auditing and thus provides policy, practice, and research implications.     

Continuous audit: Model development and implementation within a debt covenant compliance domain

Because of technological advances and the current audit environment, there is a growing interest in the concept of continuous audit. Conceptually, a continuous audit is an assurance service where the time between the occurrence of events underlying a particular subject matter and the issuance of an auditor's opinion on the fairness of a client's representation of the subject matter is eliminated. A continuous audit is the natural evolution of the integration of technology into the auditing domain. Although the concepts of continuous auditing are now more than a decade old, only recently have technologies emerged that are both widely available and affordable, making implementation of the continuous audit feasible. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants have together called on the research community to investigate the concept of continuous auditing and its implementation in various audit domains. In response to this call, we develop a conceptual model of a continuous audit, and, as proof of concept, we design and demonstrate an implementation of continuous audit within the debt covenant compliance domain. The demonstrated Web application uses digital agents and alarm triggers sent over the Internet to continuously monitor whether actual values of a client's variables are in compliance with standards for these variables set out in the debt covenant agreement.     

提升企业内部控制有效性的重要制度安排——关于实施企业内部控制注册会计师审计的有关问题

实施企业内控注册会计师审计具有十分重要的意义。在实施企业内控审计中,应当正确处理好企业内控责任与注册会计师审计责任的关系、企业内控自我评价与注册会计师内控审计的关系、内控审计和财务报表审计的关系、财务报告内控和非财务报告内控的关系、企业层面控制测试与业务层面控制测试的关系、重大缺陷披露与其他缺陷沟通的关系。同时,应当深入研究非财务报告内控测试的范围界定和方法技术问题、内控测试评价的样本选取问题、首次执行内控审计与连续实施内控审计的策略问题、内控审计报告的披露形式问题、内控审计信息系统的开发建设问题、内控审计结果的利用问题,推动内控审计扎实有序开展。     

审计质量保障的权利配置研究视角

现行审计质量问题是审计委托权配置失范的外部性表现.提高审计质量的有效措施是对现行会计流程控制权配置范式进行变迁,改变目前企业管理当局集会计政策选择权、会计人员聘任权及审计委托权于一身的状况,使会计信息供应脱离管理当局的直接控制而由财务报告委员会及其所属的独立会计机构全程负责,此时高质量审计服务成为信息生产者、信息使用者、企业管理当局及注册会计师的共同需求,审计质量有了保障.     

中国人民银行绩效审计的现状与思考

绩效审计已经成为现代政府审计发展的一种主流趋势。人民银行内审部门近年来积极探索转型,发挥咨询与增加组织价值的作用,探索开展绩效审计无疑是一个很好的突破口。本文分析了当前人民银行绩效审计现状与不足,并提出了人民银行内审部门如何推进绩效审计的思路。     

Auditing SAP R/3 – Control Risk Assessment

This paper provides an introduction to auditing in an SAP R/3 environment, focusing primarily on the assessment of control risk. A number of distinguishing characteristics of the SAP R/3 system that affect the audit are described. The application of a standard internal control framework to the assessment of application controls is illustrated. Two significant pervasive general control areas are examined - system development and program maintenance, and user access control. Relevant controls in these areas are discussed and methods for auditing these controls are outlined. Several opporhcnities for research in the auditing of SAP R/3 are proposed.     

State audit budgets and market assessments of credit risk

While financial statement auditing dominates the market for corporate auditing, internal controls and operational auditing appear to be emphasized in governmental markets. The size of the governmental audit budget (beyond the minimum level prescribed by generally accepted auditing standards) is ultimately a cost/benefit decision, with lower borrowing costs being one of several potential benefits. In testing for empirical regularities between auditing quantity and investor decisions, we found the size of the audit budget to be indeed associated with borrowing costs, but the direction of the relationship was anomalous. The anomalous positive sign for the audit budget variable could be due to self-selection bias. Self-selection bias is a confounding effect that has come up repeatedly to muddy the interpretation of empirical findings in prior (corporate) market based research on discretionary accounting variables. The supply of (discretionary) internal and operational audits may be driven by operational considerations (e.g., internal control weaknesses), which cannot be directly observed by outsiders. The bond markets may be interpreting the size of the audit budget as a signal about underlying economic characteristics that make the state a more risky investment. Alternatively, larger state audit budgets may signal less use of private sector auditors and be interpreted as less useful to investors (though, possibly more useful to governmental concerns focusing on compliance issues). Despite the inclusion of CPAs' audit fees in state budgets, the signal “inferred” for the state's municipalities may have a carryover effect onto state issues.     

CFOs’ and public accountants’ perceptions of material weaknesses in internal control areas as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley act

One of the most controversial aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOA) is related to Section 404, which requires management to assess the entity’s internal controls, and then its independent auditor to attest and report on management’s assessment. The auditing standard governing this requirement was promulgated by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Its title is Auditing Standard (AS) No. 2, An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Performed in Conjunction with an Audit of Financial Statements [Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) (2004). An audit of internal control over financial reporting performed in conjunction with an audit of financial statements. Auditing Standard No. 2, Washington, DC: PCAOB]. AS No. 2 requires, among other things, that management must disclose any “material weaknesses” in internal controls. However, absent any guidance other than definitions from the PCAOB, management and independent auditors are left to their own judgment to define and recognize “material weakness in internal control” or “significant deficiency” while implementing AS No. 2. The research question, then, becomes to what extent, if any, are weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting consistently assessed, recognized and agreed upon by both parties? Or does their professional judgment and point of view cause different perceptions? Most of the Section 404 research has focused on the characteristics of the material weaknesses disclosed (and the capital market or other impacts of reported material weaknesses). This study, in contrast, is behavioral in context, and examines the perceptions of CFOs and CPAs as to whether they believe an internal control material weakness exists under four independent scenarios. The results indicate that the CPAs were significantly more conservative in their assessments in two of the four cases.     

Does debtor protection really protect debtors? Evidence from the small business credit market

This paper analyzes how different levels of debtor protection across US states affect small firms’ access to credit, as well as the price and non-price terms of their loans. We use an individual-specific measure of debtor protection that has its maximum value when the borrower’s home equity is lower than the state homestead exemption (the debtor’s home equity is fully protected), and is decreasing in the difference between the home equity and the homestead exemption (the amount that the creditor can seize). We find that unlimited liability small businesses have lower access to credit in states with more debtor-friendly bankruptcy laws. In addition, these businesses face tighter loan terms - they are more likely to pledge business collateral, have shorter maturities, and borrow smaller amounts. For limited liability small businesses, we also find a reduction in credit availability, but of smaller magnitude, together with an increase in the loan rate.     

国外公共危机预防审计的实践及借鉴

人类社会的发展不断面临各类公共危机的挑战。面对公共危机造成的重大影响,各国政府开展了公共危机管理,相应地,国家审计机关开展了贯穿于公共危机预防、反应和恢复等各个阶段的公共危机管理审计。我国目前的公共危机管理审计实践重心在于危机发生后的援助款物使用情况的审计和危机恢复阶段的重点工程项目跟踪审计,对危机预防审计缺乏认识。他山之石,可以攻玉。本文选取美国洛杉矶综合性危机预防审计、加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚地区地震预防审计和爱沙尼亚应急准备审计三个审计案例,介绍其公共危机预防审计的实践,从中总结出值得我国借鉴的经验,对我国现阶段开展公共危机预防审计提出相应的建议。     

上市公司内部审计机构设置及履行职责情况研究

将内部审计机构作为内部控制监督机构是国际内部审计发展的趋势,通过对沪市上市公司2010年报中披露的有关公司内部审计机构设置、命名、职责定位、履职情况、隶属关系等信息进行描述性统计分析,发现沪市公司在机构设置、职责定位、隶属关系方面合规率较高,但存在机构名称多元化、实际履职与职责定位不吻合等问题,主要原因是我国内部审计法律基础薄弱、政策依据缺乏统一性和刚性、政策理念滞后等。基于此,提出了应从完善审计法规、统一内部审计模式等方面予以改进的政策性建议。     

利益制度缺陷对风险导向审计影响的研究

目前倡导的风险导向审计,是针对日益复杂的经济业务开发的,希望能通过新的技术方法来提高发现欺诈的概率。但是,应该注意到,许多审计失败并非纯粹的技术方面的原因。技术方法的设计可以很完善,技术方法的实施却离不开相关利益制度的制约。本文认为风险导向审计的核心是风险评估,影响评估结果的关键因素是审计主体的风险偏好;而利益制度的缺陷则是导致审计主体非理性偏好的诱因,从而影响了风险导向审计的有效实施。