Audit Technology Tools and Business Process Assurance: Assessment of Auditors’ Perspective in Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess the perception of compliance personnel over audit technology tools implementation in Nigeria. The study provides an empirical analysis of input supplied by a sample of 173 professional auditors across 67 companies from 5 major sectors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Subjects were tested of their perception on the application of audit technology tools in automated controls monitoring of financial transactions processing and assurance reporting. Although audit technology tools have been accessible for over a decade, the outcome of the study suggested that internal auditors and audit departments in Nigerian companies are not making substantial use of available tools. Internal auditors mostly have adopted audit software on an ad hoc basis with some repetitive use. In addition, most internal audit departments and units do not have formal strategies and plans for integrating technology in their internal audit processes with the exclusion of the financial services sector. The study also discovered that the most significant factors inhibiting the use of technology tools in other sectors were audit software inaccessibility and training costs alongside lack of senior management support from additional comments obtained from survey instrument. Respondents relatively share inconsistent views about the applicability and reliance on the underlying tools.