Technology and Evidence in Non-Big 4 Assurance Engagements: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Elizabeth C. Altiero, Lisa Baudot, Mouna Hazgui; Technology and Evidence in Non-Big 4 Assurance Engagements: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic. AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory 2023; https://doi.org/10.2308/AJPT-2022-068

40 Pages Posted: 25 May 2023 Last revised: 7 Mar 2024

See all articles by Elizabeth C. Altiero

Elizabeth C. Altiero

University of Central Florida - Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting

Lisa Baudot

HEC Paris - Department of Accounting and Management Control

Mouna Hazgui

HEC Montreal - Department of Accounting Studies

Date Written: September 5, 2023

Abstract

We interviewed 30 assurance professionals in the US regarding how and to what extent non-Big 4 firms incorporated technologies into assurance engagements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Informed by technology acceptance models, our findings show that the pandemic played an accelerator role, prompting an open attitude toward experimenting with technologies in assurance engagements. This experimentation increased perceptions of the usefulness of technology in engagement efficiency, given easier and faster evidence gathering. However, the readiness and security of clients’ systems remain barriers in evidence gathering. Assurance professionals perceive technology as useful in producing better quality evidence evaluation, with usage stymied by challenges related to source data integrity, naïve use of tools, and distrust of outputs limiting the extent of change in evidence evaluation. Our study indicates more modest technology gains in evidence evaluation than in evidence gathering during the pandemic due to barriers with higher stakes, often directly tied to assurance conclusions.

Keywords: non-big 4; assurance; audit; technology; comfort; evidence

Suggested Citation

Altiero, Elizabeth and Baudot, Lisa and Hazgui, Mouna, Technology and Evidence in Non-Big 4 Assurance Engagements: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic (September 5, 2023). Elizabeth C. Altiero, Lisa Baudot, Mouna Hazgui; Technology and Evidence in Non-Big 4 Assurance Engagements: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic. AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory 2023; https://doi.org/10.2308/AJPT-2022-068, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4125303 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4125303

Elizabeth Altiero

University of Central Florida - Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting ( email )

University of Central Florida
P.O. Box 161400
Orlando, FL 32816-1400
United States

Lisa Baudot (Contact Author)

HEC Paris - Department of Accounting and Management Control ( email )

1 rue de la Liberation
Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, 78351
France

Mouna Hazgui

HEC Montreal - Department of Accounting Studies ( email )

3000, Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine
Montreal H3T 2A7, Quebec
Canada

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