The impact of information and communication technologies on the professional performance of the external auditors in the Tunisian context

Abstract

This research attempts to explain the impact of some specific information and communication technologies (ICT) on the professional performance of external auditors. At the outset, the research proposes a plan for distinguishing on the one hand the factors that pushed the external auditors to the use of ICT and the various stages of the evolution of computer and communication technologies in audit. And on the other hand, an attempt has been made to measure the impact of specific ICT on professional performance of the external auditors. Computer assisted auditing techniques (CAAT) in an electronic data processing (EDP) should bring changes in term of organisation, procedures, manner of storing information and carrying out reports by processing them. The performance will be measured in terms of audit labour productivity, quality of judgement, apprenticeship of the auditor and his/her satisfaction. The research outlines the inherent risks involved in using the ICT by the auditors in their mission. Finally, the empirical part showed that ICT and the individual variables have a positive and significant impact on the professional performance of the external Tunisian auditors. However, this positive impact is reduced by the impact of IT risks.