Computer-aided auditing of inter-organizational trade procedures

The development of open electronic commerce requires a structural approach to the design of trustworthy trade procedures that govern these transactions. In this paper an initial theory on the design of such procedures is presented. First, general principles are defined based on rules from the internal auditing domain. Then, these rules are formalized and modelled using the audit daemon approach. This approach has been developed by Lee (1991) and allows an automated rule-based analysis of procedures. The automated analysis of the trustworthiness of trade procedures is illustrated through a realistic example from the international trade domain. Finally, conclusions are drawn and some directions for future research are given. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.