How to audit the massive data volumes that companies nowadays process in their financial IT systems? The answer is obvious and recognized by financial auditors: data analysis. There is a need to move away from the traditional audit approach, which is based on testing IT controls, manual controls and sampling. This traditional approach served well in the 20th century, however today this is not sufficient anymore.
In addition, there is a strong demand by companies, which are subject to financial audit, for more quality, efficiency and innovation. Competition in audit is fierce. Almost every time when companies go for an audit tender the prize of the audit goes down. The traditional audit has become a commodity and financial auditors are fighting for market share. To survive, audit firms need to stay relevant and deliver quality and value against a competitive prize: there is a need for advanced and innovative audits, which are driven by data analysis.