This week's reading focused on audit documentation and evidence. Audit
evidence is "information used by the auditor in arriving at the conclusion on
which the audit opinion is based, including the information contained in the
accounting records underlying the financial statements and other sources."
Essential aspects of this evidence are its efficiency and appropriateness. With
the advancement of technology, image processing systems have become a
lucrative and time-saving tool for providing accurate information. Using pen
and paper can now be considered "time-consuming, manpower wastage, and
inefficient working style." Old-school bookkeeping can also be inaccurate
when overwhelming workloads and timelines require faster turnover. Image
processing offers more reliable completeness and accuracy for documentation.
c c c c c Running parallel to the accuracy of information gathering is the exchange
of information between entities, including financial institutions, businesses,
customers, and suppliers. Electronic data exchange (EDI) is "information
technology that standardizes the exchange of information between transacting
parties." This comes into play for auditors tracing transactions from their
"origin to their ultimate disposition in the accounting journals and ledgers."
The use of EDI places a greater demand on its users for accuracy and
completeness. Furthermore, its services are associated with better
"departmental performance" and offer the benefit of error-free orders
regardless of their simplicity or complexity by its user. The use of technology
has a great advantage to the auditing world as it assists with the ease of audit
procedures concerning staffing and reliability.
References
Anderson, S. W., & Lanen, W. N. (2002). Using Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI) to Improve the Efficiency of Accounting Transactions. The Accounting
Review, 77(4), 703–729.
Messier, W. Glover, S. Prawitt, D. (2019). Auditing & Assurance Services: A
Systematic Approach 11th Edition. McGraw Hill Education.
Vo-Nguyen, T.-A., Nguyen, P., & Le, H.-S. (2021). An Efficient Method to
Extract Data from Bank Statements Based on Image-Based Table Detection.
2021 15th International Conference on Advanced Computing and
Applications (ACOMP), Advanced Computing and Applications (ACOMP),
2021 15th International Conference on, ACOMP, 186–190. https://doi-
org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1109/ACOMP53746.2021.00033
