Information Technology Adoption within Internal Auditing in Ghana: Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the determinants of adoption of Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques (CAATTs) among internal audit units in Ghana. Data for the study was drawn from a sample of 75 private and state-owned enterprises through questionnaires while the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyse and test hypotheses. The findings indicate that albeit CAATT adoption within internal audit units is fairly high, the actual usage in the areas of risk assessment, fraud detection, substantive testing and analytical procedures are still low. Using the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework results show that CAATT behavioural intention is driven by factors such as technological readiness, organisational readiness and environmental readiness but not personal innovativeness. Also, CAATT behavioural intention influences CAATT Adoption among the internal audit units. The findings provide valuable insights to management, heads of audit units, policymakers and regulators on ways to improve the adoption and use of CAATT.