COMPUTER-ASSISTED AUDIT TECHNIQUES: MAIN ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Abstract

The authors substantiate the positive role of information technology in auditing and computer-assisted audit techniques for decision-making during various audit procedures. It is established that the International Auditing Practice Regulation IASP - "Computer Assisted Audit Techniques" play a fundamental role in regulating their use by auditors during rendering assurance and other related services. It was proved, that the auditors use computer-assisted audit techniques for various reasons. Moreover, it helps them to better plan and prepare themselves for all the challenges that today’s competing environment is bringing to them The key advantages of using computer-assisted audit techniques are substantiated, which are mainly refer to improving the efficiency and reliability of the auditor's work, reduce its complexity. Additional advantages concern the ability to create electronic worksheets on a centralized database, the possibility to detect fraud, continuous monitoring as a constant process of accumulating, analysing and reporting company database, testing the client's accounting software, testing of bulky volumes of database in a short time and with good accuracy, testing the database source, making comparisons between the results obtained swallow computer-assisted techniques and the results of classical tests, the ability to check specific risk. In contrast the most significant disadvantages and obstacles to the use of computer-assisted audit techniques were characterized. They are associated with high cost and complexity of implementation technologies as well as high initial cost of installation and maintaining computer-assisted audit techniques, inadequacy of simplified accounting software, overstatement of investigations, and high requirements to effectiveness of client database. Keywords: audit, information technology in audit, computer-assisted audit techniques.