An ERP system automatically updates the data throughout the system once a transaction has been entered. Because the information is updated, maintained and stored electronically, auditors need to understand how the modules interact with each other and with the database. Auditors must spend more time with lower-level employees in ERP system to determine what they are doing while entering the data, and especially what to do if a mistake is made.
In the ERP system environment employee require extensive training. The training should be designed in such a way to stress employees how the data they control affect the entire business operation. Auditors should also examine how the client’s management deals with the changes that ERP systems bring to the business. However, ERP systems decrease the use of paper documents and hence cause transaction trails to be incomplete. It makes the detection of error sources difficult and increases the risk of information leakage and losses. Therefore, management must consider their companies’ characteristics in ERP system environments and design internal control procedures accordingly.