ROMANIAN INTERNAL AND FINANCIAL AUDITORS' PERCEPTION REGARDING ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS AUDITING

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to report the perception of Romanian internal and financial auditors regarding the importance given to accounting information systems and several IT related aspects during their audit mission. Prior Work: Financial and internal auditors are required by their professional standards to develop and/or enhance their IT knowledge and skills. In the planning stages of their mission they have to assess how the client's characteristics affect system risk (Bedard et al., 2005) and the subsequent misstatements (Bell et al. 1998). During the mission they have to consider how IT complexity affects the nature of audit testing (Javrin et al. 2009). Methodology: An empirical survey via questionnaires was conducted on Romanian financial and internal auditors. The questionnaire covered several aspects regarding the importance given by auditors to several IT-related activities, the usage of Computer-Assisted Audit Tools & Techniques [CAATs], the perceived difficulties of auditing entities with complex Enterprise Resource Planning [ERP] systems in place, the influence of accounting information system evaluation on the audit opinion. Results: Based on the data gathered we concluded that Romanian internal and financial auditors prefer to audit "around the computer" rather than with or through it. Auditors indicated difficulties in auditing entities with ERP systems in place suggesting that there is a gap between the competences required for an audit in such a complex IT environment and the competences possessed by auditors. Implications: The identified knowledge gaps can help professional organizations in reshaping their training policies and also academics in further investigating other aspect regarding the impact of information systems' complexity on the audit steps or the whole mission. Originality Value: The paper is among the few works which explore, in Romania, the level of IT competences of internal and financial auditors and their ability to audit complex accounting information systems.