A Study Into The Issues, Problems And Prospects Of Computerized Audit Systems
Auditing through the computer can be described as penetrating, assaying and reporting the electronic data train in its electronic state with the ideal of icing that it conforms to functional control demand according to Joshua Onukagha
The capstone of the trouble of the terrain, tackle, software security etc according to Nancy Joy( 1977) is the electronic data train and it’s this data train that answers important questions( like how is the business faring)?
Capability to manipulate the data train will obviously mean having the capability to manipulate the earnings or losses of the business. thus, it’s important that the Adjudicator should get veritably knowledgeable with auditing through the computer.
Early computer were the gigantic and complex mainframes, which bear programs being roundly written to interrogate the data lines on those mainframe which were only needed to prepare the computer use. This proved enough frustration for the Auditor and so the trend was to communicate the service of a computer professional to ease the process. This problem continued indeed in the time ofmini-computers,
When themicro-computers were developed, there was stopgap for an automated computer inspection took because of the simple features of themicro-computers. This inversely met with a lot of frustrations. The major reason for this was the difference in data platforms. There were numerous programming languages( COBOL, FORTRAN, PASCAL, Drive etc) used in creating data lines and each programming languages has its own data platform. To review the data lines made in any of these languages needed writing the interrogation tool( i.e. software) in the programming language of the data lines. So there were compendium and so it feel as if the Adjudicator should come a computer professional in order to do the job.
These were problems facing the Adjudicator while facing the hassles of understanding train creation and access format which is necessary for reading and assaying any data train indeed with a matching tool. Also affecting traditional inspection demand like icing capabilities and vindicating the integrity of the data train which are essential for accepting the data train for inspection placing between choices of inspection samples and reaching out for a wide number of automated and it functions like position histogram,etc.
These problems have been dived by developing some tools for auditing through the computer.
There are four main sources of the computer backed auditing ways and tools( CAATS) that have been developed for the adjudicators. They are
1. operations( computer program) that creates the data train
2. mileage programs
3. Adjudicator †“ development program
4. devoted CAATS
operation PROGRAMS
Some operation come with inspection related functions, similar functions generally indicate the number of record in the train, summaries the lines population distribution and other inspection base functions. The main problem then’s that utmost operations infrequently include these functions since they weren’t designed with auditing in mind where the auditing is considered it’s substantially concentrated on putting in controls that will insure effective data prisoner processing recording and reporting of the data. thus, they’re so dependable as tools toauditing.However, it could give considerable inspection function, If the Auditor requested for applicable inspection function to be incorporated at the design and development stage.
still, no matter how numerous of these functions may be, they won’t be sufficient enough to meet all the demand of the Adjudicator at different times of the inspection.
operations like package program( 1-2-3, D- base fox prog.) contain function and command that allows the EDP Auditor to pierce lines created in them( or indeed other platforms) and carry out some analysis and report from the. These systems could have been veritably helpful if applied to the data lines for total inspection but in reality, this is hardly the case( Goshual Anukagha 1993).
mileage PROGRAM
mileage are programs that are generally short and devoted( meant) to a set of tasks frequently needed by nearly everyone using the computer. They generally address tasks that the driver perform utmos
t of the time on the computer.
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