The use and impact of technology tools on audit support: the perspective of the official auditors

Abstract

Auditors, in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of audit procedures and, consequently, their performance, had to adopt certain technological tools to support auditing. They are able to monitor the volume, variety and complexity of the data to be audited, and the speed with which they are produced, as a result of the dematerialization of the processes and the digital transformation that today's companies face. The main objective of this dissertation is to highlight the changes in the auditing procedures caused by the introduction of the technological tools to support the Audit, namely in the effectiveness and efficiency of the procedures. In addition, the work aims to also understand the tasks in which these tools are used, identifying the advantages of its adoption and exploring its current use by auditors. In order to respond to these objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted to the Official Chartered Accountants (ROC) of Portugal. The main conclusions show that there is a great variety of technological tools used by ROCs in Portugal, the most used being Microsoft Excel. This tool facilitates the analysis work and preparation of audit procedures. It is also concluded that ROCs are generally satisfied with the contribution of the use of these tools to the effectiveness and efficiency of audit procedures, and this is more meaningful in the procedures "Risk Identification and Assessment", "Audit Work Papers" And "Data Analysis". They also consider that the tools they use are prepared to keep pace with the new trends and challenges imposed on the Audit.