Overview and impact of blockchain on auditing

Abstract

Blockchain has become very popular as the underlying technology powering Bitcoin. However, the benefits behind this technology further surpass just supporting cryptocurrencies. Blockchain can be defined as a digital ledger that allows to capture transactions conducted among several parties on real-time and serves as a decentralized database where each participant keeps an identical copy of the ledger. The appeal behind blockchain resides on its peer-to-peer network infrastructure along cryptographic capabilities. This combination enables users to conduct transactions without a trusted third-party intermediary. Benefits in accounting are even more promising as blockchain will provide a triple entry accounting system where all transactions are immutable and have been time stamped, recorded on real-time and encrypted (Alarcon & Ng, 2018). The purpose of this paper is to review extant research on this technology and assess the impact of blockchain in the audit profession, including new risks, change in procedures and additional opportunities.