Date of Award

Spring 5-5-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Moore School of Business

First Reader

Tim Baker

Second Reader

Scott Vandervelde

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the current status of the uses and implementation of technology in the external auditing profession. For purposes of this paper, an auditor refers to a Certified Public Accountant working at a large (national and international) accounting firm. Internal auditors, those that work either internally for the client or are hired on a consulting basis by the client, are mentioned specifically when I am trying to highlight their differing approaches and practice. In addition to surveying the current status of business technology, I investigate the drivers of the present state, and try to predict what will happen in the near future with regards to technology use by external auditors. The majority of the information in this paper is a compilation of various organizational publications and scholarly articles. I began preliminary research in July 2015 that served as background knowledge of the topic before later examining the material at a greater depth. This paper was written in February through April 2016. Another portion of the analysis in this paper comes from personal experience. I completed an audit internship with an international accounting firm from January through March of 2016. Although this was only a few months, it gave me valuable insight into the current status of the auditing profession, and helped me identify technological trends that 3 will continue into the future. I learned an immense amount during the internship, which has helped me develop a number of the ideas presented in this paper. Although I have taken an in-depth look at the auditing profession and their reliance on technology, there are still many more topics to be researched to further explain the current situation. If I had the opportunity to continue my research, I would further examine the potential opportunities for research that include the use of Big Data Analytics in auditing.

First Page

1

Last Page

32

Rights

© 2016, Matthew C. Oldhouser

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