IT support through CAATTs - Systematic requirements analysis and design for process audit

Abstract

Due to the increasing operation of automated and autonomous Accounting Information Systems (AIS) in the recent decades, the audit of financial statements through process audits has risen in complexity. Additionally, process audits have to be managed in a field of tension because of intensified legal framework and the ever-growing size of data. Therefore, auditors demand for solutions, which support an efficient and high quality examination of financial statements. According to the principles of Design Science, an analysis of essential requirements of the auditors is examined in this work. With respect to the auditor's needs, a specification of process audit is conducted from expert interviews. This sets the baseline for the design of innovative IT artifacts for a guided and systematic support for all activities of process audit. The paper concludes with a critical discussion and highlights the implications for future work.