（2002）Holistic, Continuous Assurance Integration：e-Business Opportunities and Challenges（Discussion1）.pdfVIP

Joumal of Information Systems Vol. 16 2002 Supplement pp . 25-27 Discussion of Holistic, Continuous Assurance Integration: e-Business Opportunities and Challenges Carla Carnaghan University of Waterloo reenstein and Rays paper (Greenstein and Ray 2002) (hereafter, the paper) addresses an impor- tant current issue : challenges in ensuring assurance services are relevant and efficiently deliv- Gered to e-business . The authors stated aims are to consider how the characteristics of web-based e-business operations impact the accounting processes of these firms, and the issues raised by these impacts for assurance providers. The paper provides 16 propositions for assurance providers to consider in providing more relevant and efficient assurance services to this growing segment of the economy. The basic chain of logic employed by the paper is : 1. e-Business (particularly that incorporating web-based technology) is a significant part of the economy; 2. e-Business companies can have business process and transaction characteristics, as well as stakeholders with differing information needs, that are not appropriately considered in the tra- ditional financial accounting model; 3. As a consequence of these differing characteristics and information needs, assurance providers need to provide more assurance for particular types of accounts and need to consider some additional sources as well as greater timeliness of information to provide adequate assurance to existing and new stakeholders. 4. To adequately and efficiently provide this assurance, traditional