（2003）Continuous Auditing：Risks, Challenges and Opportunities.pdfVIP

The International Journal of Applied Management and Technology, Volume 1, Number 1, 2003 Continuous Auditing: Risks, Challenges and Opportunities Sean Chen, Loyola Marymount University Abstract Information technology (IT) continues to change how organizations function, communicate, and conduct business with customers, allies, and agents. Directors, audit committees, management, and stakeholders increasingly expect their auditors to be proficient in the use of IT to d evelop a thorough understanding of the control environment. Internal audit response requires understanding audit processes and continuous auditing (CA) techniques in an electronic environment, such as better use of interrogation software and intelligent software agents that provide new, Web-based models to identify risks. While the CA concept is over a decade old, rapid advancements in information technology (IT) have now made it more feasible. Examples of IT that are available for CA systems include broad bandwidth, web application server technology, web-scripting solutions, and ubiquitous database management systems with standard connectivity. CA services offer considerable advantages over traditional auditing, but they also present significant hurdles in implementation. This research addresses several aspects regarding continuous auditing – why is CA critical in today’s electronic environment? How is CA implemented? What new audit tools and techniques are necessary for CA? What are some challenges as well as new opportunities for auditors in adopting CA? Further research is suggested in the areas of a standardized CA connections, new regulations concerning data sharing and file protection, and new IT that will become available for CA implementations. Keywords Continuous Auditing (CA), Real-Time Auditing (RT