Related Review of Literature

The influence of Information Technology on Accounting

Data innovation accounting combines traditional accounting standards with programming and data
frameworks to create a unified area for storing a substance's financial data. This digitization also streamlines the
process of investigating any such information, allowing one to identify and revise errors or wasteful aspects of their
financial systems. Traditional operations and production processes have also been improved by software packages.
Accounting has made tremendous strides as a result of the advancement of information technology. Accounting
software replaces traditional paper ledgers and accounting books (Ghasemi, Shafeiepour, Aslani & Barvayeh, 2011).

Impact of Accounting Software in Audit

According to Ghasemi et al. (2011), many firms in the professional services industries have been transformed
by advances in information technology (IT), but perhaps none more so than those in the public accounting industry.
Computers, for example, are not prone to generating client-specific control templates to assist in identifying system
strengths and weaknesses. Auditors enter a file into a computer-based questionnaire developed by the audit firm to
obtain a client-specific internal control template. The computer can then be used in response to software queries to
investigate a client's business processes determine whether or not controls are present missing (according to a
comparison with benchmarks in the industry), evaluate inherent and manage risk and create a detailed series of
audit tests must be carried out. As the audit progresses, the results of audit testing can be entered into the software
to determine whether the risks identified during planning have been adequately addressed. This assists in ensuring
that all significant risks are addressed during the audit. An important advantage of using technology for audit
planning is that instead of relying solely on the expertise of the audit team assigned to the engagement, the software
pools the knowledge of managers and partners worldwide and makes it available to everyone (Beirstaker, Burnaby &
Thibodeau, 2001).

Advances in technology have also contributed to a greater emphasis on a client's business processes during
the audit planning stages. If evidence is only transmitted, processed, and accessed electronically, the auditor must
audit the information system to ensure that the evidence has not been tampered with. According to AICPA (2016),
the competence of electronic evidence usually depends on the effectiveness of internal control over its validity and
completeness. With the help of technology, auditors are now beginning to plan audits by assessing risks in their
clients' key business processes.