As electronic data interchange, image processing, and technology in
general become more prevalent in today's society, it is increasingly
important to consider the effects of these technologies and, at the very
least, have a working knowledge of them. “With EDI, an entity and its
customers or suppliers use communication links to transact business
electronically. Purchase, shipping, billing, cash receipt and cash
disbursement transactions often are consummated entirely by
exchanging electronic messages” (WILLIAMSON, 2022). As an audit
associate I can say 99% of the support, work papers, messages, and
communication I engage with is electronic. Without the use of EDI the
audit process would probably be far more time consuming as there
would be huge lags in getting support, communicating, and ultimately
completing an audit. “In image processing systems, documents are
scanned and converted into electronic images to facilitate storage, and
reference and source documents may not be retained after conversion”
(WILLIAMSON, 2022). However, this increasing prevalence in
electronic source documents does present some risks. According to
our textbook, “Audit evidence provided by original documents is more
reliable than audit evidence provided by photocopies or facsimiles. An
auditor’s examination of an original, signed copy of a lease agreement
is more reliable than photocopy”(McGraw, 2022). With simple software
programs such as photoshop, people are capable of editing or even
completing changing electronic documents while still making them look
exactly like the original. Signatures can be forged far easier with
technology than when people used to put pen to paper. This is
something that all auditors need to be aware of and keep in mind as
part of their due care.
Citations:
WILLIAMSON, A. (2022). The Implications of Electronic Evidence.
Journal of Accountancy. Retrieved 16 September 2022, from
https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/1997/feb/implic.html#:~:t
ext=
Messier , W., Glover , S., & Prawitt, D. (2018, October 19). Auditing &
Assurance Services: A systematic approach. McGraw Hill. Retrieved
August 31, 2022, from
https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/auditing-assurance-
services-systematic-approach-messier-jr-
glover/M9781259969447.html
