The role of (big) Data Analytics in the audit process through the position-practice perspective - An evaluation of the necessary skillset of an auditor
Tallqvist, Valentina (2021)
Tallqvist, Valentina
2021
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021053132494
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2021053132494
Tiivistelmä
In the last five years, the Audit Industry has experienced major changes in the collection and analysis of data within the audit process, leading to a change in the audit process itself concerning data management. This evolution has been discernible both in terms of different data programs and positionings within the company. This study aims to evaluate what type of role Big Data Analytics and Data Analytics have within the audit process, what type of impact it has on the auditor and the future of auditors' skill in the audit process and why it has been implemented in the audit process by the audit company.
This paper has evaluated the role of Big Data Analytics and Data Analytics as a case study, conducted with qualitative semi-structured interviews. To understand the impact both data proficient subjects, i.e. data specialists or Audit transformation team members, and non-data proficient team members, i.e. managers of the audit team or other audit team members, were interviewed. The result was analysed with the help of the position-practice theory.
The case study found that Data Analytics is a part of the audit process in the form of data cleaning and organising, and visualisations of the general ledger, such as entries per month or cross-analysing of accounts connected to sales. The element of positioning can be seen in the existence of the Audit transformation team, where a specific group has been created to perform a specific task within a specific system. As for the audit team members’ own experience, the position-practice theory illustrates issues in the praxis, resulting in a lack of trust in both capabilities and positionings. Out of the position-practise perspective, there is a system of communication and power, but with the lack of proper sanctions, the individual with the data specialist positioning feels that the capabilities are underutilised and has a lack of trust in the system. The required skillset of an auditor requires the auditor to have skills in Data Analytics in terms of data cleaning and organising, data visualisation and different types of trend analyses.
The result suggests that there is a gap of knowledge between the audit team member who orders the data analysis and the team member who performs the data analysis. If audit companies are to implement Data Analytics, it cannot only be the entry-level positions that are educated but those at the very top must be educated as well.
This paper has evaluated the role of Big Data Analytics and Data Analytics as a case study, conducted with qualitative semi-structured interviews. To understand the impact both data proficient subjects, i.e. data specialists or Audit transformation team members, and non-data proficient team members, i.e. managers of the audit team or other audit team members, were interviewed. The result was analysed with the help of the position-practice theory.
The case study found that Data Analytics is a part of the audit process in the form of data cleaning and organising, and visualisations of the general ledger, such as entries per month or cross-analysing of accounts connected to sales. The element of positioning can be seen in the existence of the Audit transformation team, where a specific group has been created to perform a specific task within a specific system. As for the audit team members’ own experience, the position-practice theory illustrates issues in the praxis, resulting in a lack of trust in both capabilities and positionings. Out of the position-practise perspective, there is a system of communication and power, but with the lack of proper sanctions, the individual with the data specialist positioning feels that the capabilities are underutilised and has a lack of trust in the system. The required skillset of an auditor requires the auditor to have skills in Data Analytics in terms of data cleaning and organising, data visualisation and different types of trend analyses.
The result suggests that there is a gap of knowledge between the audit team member who orders the data analysis and the team member who performs the data analysis. If audit companies are to implement Data Analytics, it cannot only be the entry-level positions that are educated but those at the very top must be educated as well.
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