（2004-2-12）A continuous auditing web services model for XML-based accounting systems（Discussion2）.pdfVIP

International Journal of Accounting Information Systems 5 (2004) 169– 173 Discussion Discussion of CAWS model for XML-based accounting systems Clinton (Skip) White * Department of Accounting and MIS, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716-2715, USA Received 1 January 2004; accepted 1 January 2004 Being a fan of the XML family of technologies, I find this paper to be interesting and informative, and I am happy that the authors are exploring the possibilities of using XML- based technologies to improve what accountants investigate during assurance services, how they perform assurance services, and how they deliver information to stakeholders. The authors are pushing the envelope by providing a thoughtful analysis of how emerging XML technologies can be used to perform continuous auditing, and I applaud them for doing so. Economic stakeholders today are demanding access to better information (i.e., information that they can have more confidence in on a more timely basis) with which to work to perform such diverse functions as investing and loaning money, establishing partnership relationships, and verifying compliance with regulations. Each type of economic stakeholder has his or her own information needs and decision model to work with. And, making effective use of our e-world, stakeholders are finding information from diverse sources, including financial markets, analyst reports, news releases, and regulatory filings. The problem today is not a lack of information, in general, but a lack of more reliable and relevant information. ‘‘The business reporting model of the future is online, real-time disclosure. It is also performance me