Challenges Facing External Auditor While Auditing Banking Accounting Systems in the Light of the Use of Digital Technologies of Fourth Industrial Revolution in Jordan

Abstract

The study aimed to clarify the challenges facing the external auditor in light of the fourth industrial revolution using digital technologies in the provision of banking services, as it was divided into two parts. Digital Accounting and it includes challenges related to the nature of accounting systems (disclosure and treatment), internal control systems, evidence (electronic), and audit risks. The second section is challenges related to the element of digital technologies as a tool for implementing the audit process, which includes the use of digital technologies in the implementation of audits and the information technology infrastructure in the audit office and the clients of the audit office (the level of information technology, fees, lack of clarity of the purpose of the audit services, the multiplicity of services (financial audit). Evaluation of electronic systems and challenges related to scientific and practical qualification in digital technologies. The researcher used the inductive-analytical approach through studies referring to previous and theoretical studies in an attempt to formulate these challenges and then the analysis approach by formulating a questionnaire to extrapolate the opinions of the external auditor of the 13 Jordanian banks, where all banks were distributed at 3 for each bank and 36 questionnaires were retrieved. The study has concluded that external auditors working in Jordanian banks face highly a set of challenges related to digital technologies as an element of audit work environment and legislations and laws professional and legislative structure of digital accounting environment) as well as accounting systems (i.e. disclosure and processing), internal control systems, electronic evidence and audit risks in addition to the challenges relating to element of digital technologies as an implementation tool of audit process and the use of digital technologies in implementing audit processes as well as infrastructure of information technology of audit office and clients (i.e. a level of information technology, fees, a lack of clarity of audit services’ goals) and a multiplicity of services (auditing, electronic system evaluation); furthermore, external auditors face the challenges which relate to scientific and practical qualifications of digital technologies.