The use of generalised audit software by internal audit functions in a developing country: The purpose of the use of generalised audit software as a data analytics tool

Abstract

This article explores the purpose of the use of generalised audit software as a data analytics tool by internal audit functions in the locally controlled banking industry of South Africa. The evolution of the traditional internal audit methodology of collecting audit evidence through the conduct of interviews, the completion of questionnaires, and by testing controls on a sample basis, is long overdue, and such practice in the present technological, data-driven era will soon render such an internal audit function obsolete. The research results indicate that respondents are utilising GAS for a variety of purposes but that its frequency of use is not yet optimal and that there is still much room for improvement for tests of controls purposes. The top five purposes for which the respondents make use of GAS often to always during separate internal audit engagements are: (1) to identify transactions with specific characteristics or control criteria for tests of control purposes; (2) for conducting full population analysis; (3) to identify account balances over a certain amount; (4) to identify and report on the frequency of occurrence of risks or frequency of occurrence of specific events; and (5) to obtain audit evidence about control effectiveness.