审计与技术（英文版）.pdf

Audit and technologyAbout ACCA ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants, offering business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. ACCA supports its 219,000 members and 527,000 students (including affiliates) in 179 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. ACCA works through a network of 110 offices and centres and 7,571 Approved Employers worldwide, and 328 approved learning providers who provide high standards of learning and development. Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of accounting and conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.ACCA has introduced major innovations to its flagship qualification to ensure its members and future members continue to be the most valued, up to date and sought-after accountancy professionals globally. Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. More information is here: accaglobalAbout Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) is a professional body comprised of over 120,000 diverse, talented and financially astute members who utilise their skills every day to make a difference for businesses the world over. Members are known for their professional integrity, principled judgment, financial discipline and a forward-looking approach to business which contributes to the prosperity of our nations. We focus on the education and lifelong learning of our members, and engage in advocacy and thought leadership in areas of public interest that impact the economy and domestic and international markets. We are a member of the International Federation of Accountants, and are connected globally through the 800,000-strong Global Accounting Alliance and Chartered Accountants Worldwide which brings together leading Institutes in Australia, England and Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and South Africa to support and promote over 320,000 Chartered Accountants in more than 180 countries. More information is here: charteredaccountantsanz The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants June 2019ACCA and CA ANZ created a strategic alliance in June 2016, forming one of the largest accounting alliances in the world. It represents 800,000 current and next generation accounting professionals across 180 countries and provides a full range of accounting qualifications to students and business. Together, ACCA and CA ANZ represent the voice of members and students, sharing a commitment to uphold the highest ethical, professional and technical standards.Audit and technologyAbout this reportThis report provides an overview of some of the various technologies that currently affect or are likely to affect the audit profession in the near future and what this means for auditors as people. The report is supported by existing research, panel discussions held in Greece, Czech Republic and Slovakia and by interviews of leading practitioners. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACCA and CA ANZ would like to thank Mick James, the Audit and Technology event panellists held in Greece, Czech Republic and Slovakia and the interviewees for their valuable input on this report.4ForewordTechnology is transforming the accountancy profession, and has the potential to revolutionise audit. Robotic process automation, data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, distributed ledger technologyto name but a few: a seemingly endless list of transformational technologies at varying stages of evolution is already having, and will continue to have, an indelible impact on the audit process. Technology of course is never the panacea to resolving all the current challenges in audits, or conversely seizing all of its future opportunities. Like all transformational stories, technology in the audit story is the enabler; an enabler to renew processes that improve quality and increase efficiency. It is also a catalyst that will help shift the focus of the audit process from a retrospective view to one which is prospective, enabling much deeper insights to clients and an enriched narrative on corporate performance and its sustainability for the future. Yet it is the nexus of emerging technology with human endeavour, skill and judgement where real future value from auditing will be unlocked. In the face of exploding technologies, audit remains at its heart a very human activity. That said, digital developments could have profound implications for how auditors conduct their activities, as well as potentially raising new ethical and moral considerations. This report assesses the technologies having most impact on the audit profession as we know it today. Drawing on existing research and exploring the views of leading practitioners, it provides an understanding of how the changing business environment is shaping technological change in auditing. It also provides a unique summary of how different technologies could be expected to impact its future. We hope it also provides insights for both businesses and auditors themselves on how they may adapt most effectively in the face of this significant change.Maggie McGhee Executive Director Governance, ACCASimon Grant Group Executive, Advocacy and Professional Standing, CA ANZContentsExecutive summary 61. What is driving technological change in audit? 72. Which technologies are changing audit? 93. What does this mean for auditors as people? 164. Conclusion and key messages 19References 20The latest advances in technology promise significant benefits for the audit profession, with a number of key drivers signalling the need for technological change in audit. Such drivers include the rapid increase in volume of data, changes in business models, the shift towards automation and the demand for a proactive and forward-looking approach to audit. These developments require auditors to be technologically sound to enable them to continue servicing businesses and to execute high quality audits.Such technologies include distributed ledger technology (DLT), data analytics, robotic process automation (RPA), drones technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), and deep learning (DL). Reference is also made to smart contracts and cloud technologies.Our research found auditors needing to understand the various technologies used by businesses, and adapt to the changes in their business models. Data analytics was found to be the most mature of the technologies currently used by most firms, while machine learning is still not at the stage where it is embedded in everyday practice. ACCA and CA ANZ also explored what this means for auditors as people, with the human relationship between business and auditor emphasised, because this remains central to auditing. In sum, the auditors of the future should be technologically sound with excellent project management skills and able to adapt to change.6These conclusions are supported by panel discussions held in Greece, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, with panellists representing audit practice, audit regulators and the business side, along with technology experts. The report is also supported by interviews with audit practitioners and technology experts in the audit profession.In this report, ACCA and CA ANZ provide an overview of the various technologies that currently affect or are likely to affect the audit profession in the near future. Executive summarysome very basic underlying technology kitchens, bicycles and a smartphone app but puts them together in a way that radically changes the way users order food: aggregating restaurants at the user end and allowing new players to enter the market at the other, or service it in different ways (dark kitchens).Auditors must be able to adapt to the changes in business models of their clients.Juraj Sekera, Finance Director, Vertiv SlovakiaSuch technological changes in businesses and their business models require the attention of auditors of any size including small and medium-sized practices (SMPs). For example, start-up businesses now tend to have business models based on advanced technologies. Complex audit challenges could therefore come from smaller businesses too.Both our auditors and us are already using advance analytics and we expect to adopt blockchain technology as soon as the supply chain of the steel trade adopts it. Michalis Samonas, CFO, SIDMA S.A. GreeceUnderstanding how technologies such as Blockchain and Machine Learning work is necessary to enable auditors to assess and respond to the current and prospective risks of the organisations that place their trust in us.Dimitris Sourbis, Assurance Partner, PwCSHIFT TOWARDS AUTOMATIONThe most immediate impact of technology on the profession is in the automation or even elimination of manual and routine tasks. This movement is accelerated because it has multiple drivers. The shift to cloud-based accounting systems and the attendant standardisation of processes has made data more easily and more widely available, easier to move between systems, easier to manipulate and analyse, and less prone to corruption and errors. For example, where data cannot move seamlessly between systems, the use of robotic process automation (RPA) can remove the need for manual intervention to cover the last mile.Despite this, there seems to be little appetite for human-free audit automation can reduce errors and spot patterns, but that merely provides 7INCREASE IN VOLUME OF DATAThe volume of transactions and data in businesses has increased dramatically since 2016 and is expected to keep increasing in the future. It has been estimated that over 90% of the worlds data has been generated since 2016, and significant amounts of it are financial data (Marr 2018).This rapid increase in the volume of data requires auditors to be equipped with the latest available technological tools to analyse a much higher volume of data in their audits than has previously been the case.CHANGES IN BUSINESS MODELSBusinesses across almost every industry are in the front line, experiencing at first hand the disruptive changes that are also affecting their auditors. Disruptive change needs to be distinguished from innovation and technology per se: the key to disruption is that it creates innovation in business models, new ways of working in markets and new sources of value. Disruption can be enabled by technology but need not involve technological breakthroughs: it can involve simply putting existing technologies together in a new way. For example, a food delivery app such as JustEat or Deliveroo rests on 1. What is driving technological change in audit?8the opportunity for individuals to exercise thought and judgement, and to bring into play other skills such as communication, persuasion and empathy. Auditors may find they are asked to look into fewer anomalies but these will be the ones that count. It seems that the role of the auditor as filter, narrator and independent challenging voice remains secure.THE DEMAND FOR A PROACTIVE AND FORWARD-LOOKING APPROACH IN AUDITThe use of advanced technologies such as AI and ML, blockchain and data analytics promises a transformation in the audit profession, changing audit from a reactive and backward-looking exercise to a proactive, constant source of forward-looking insights that can be used all the time, with the auditor as the custodian and interpreter of the underlying data foundation.Even in its traditional context, technology now offers an opportunity to produce higher-quality audits that better serve for their existing purpose.Audit and technology | 1. What is driving technological change in audit?In order to meet societys expectations of today and to remain relevant within the environment we operate, we have the responsibility of transforming the way we deliver on our obligation to the public. This transformation includes our response to the advances of technology-based solutions.Dimitris Sourbis, Assurance Partner, PwC ACCAs report Closing the Expectation Gap in Audit found that 55% of the general public across 11 countries believe that, if auditors followed the requirements of existing auditing standards, they could prevent corporate failure (ACCA 2019a). Furthermore, 70% believe that audit should evolve to prevent corporate failure. Although some may reasonably argue that such demands are unrealistic, technology could well help to satisfy the public demand, at least partly, in the future.An example would be the use of ML in risk assessment, supervised learning algorithms can be used to help identify specific types or characteristics that warrant greater scrutiny and improve targeting areas of focus for the audit. (ACCA 2019b).70%of the general public across 11 countries believe that audit should evolve to prevent corporate failureBusinesses across almost every industry are experiencing at first hand the disruptive changes that are also affecting their auditors. This chapter explores which advanced technologies are impacting the audit profession, referring to both the tools available to auditors and the systems that need to be audited.the workforce or destroying us all. According to Elon Musk: with artificial intelligence were summoning the demon (Finamore, E. and Dutta K 2014).It could be argued that because of a lack of understanding of concepts such as intuition and thought, we do not even know what it is we are trying to emulate. Is intelligence what is measured by an Intelligence Quotient (IQ)? Or, in developing AI, should we be trying to emulate other quotients, such as an Emotional Quotient (EQ).It is clear that some tasks will no longer be done by the auditors. In the long term, it is likely that the profession will see a shift in its focus with more emotional intelligence expected from auditors rather focusing on data testing.Michal Stepan, Assurance Director, Deloitte Czech RepublicThe intelligence in AI often constitutes a combination of processing power and access to data: for instance, a computer will play a game such as chess by analysing all the possible outcomes of a move, using datasets from past games and selecting the winning option.But that fact alone makes AI highly useful to people: it enables the analysis of entire populations of data to identify patterns or exceptions. Auditors are freed from mundane tasks and can focus their time on deploying their skills, training and judgement: although technology is making progress in areas such as speech processing and sentiment analysis, professional ju