5.2 Audit Tools
Audit automation, in this context, involves the use of computer assisted audit techniques (CAATS) as an integral part of an audit review to increase its overall efficiency and effectiveness. CAATS are generally categorised into those which review data and those which review controls.
Those CAATS which review data generally involve
the extraction, examination and manipulation of data by programs. Such techniques can enable the auditor to gain an assurance as to the accuracy and integrity of the data being reviewed and, by implication, the strength or weakness of control. Those CAATS which review controls look at the system rather than data and provide the auditor with an assurance as to whether or not controls exist and are functioning effectively. By implication, this will cause the auditor to question the accuracy and integrity of that data.
Traditional text books on computer audit usually refer to a large range of CAATS. Although some of these are used to varying degrees by some organisations, in practice, interrogation software is the most widely used CAAT.