SYNOPSIS:

Expert systems are quickly becoming pervasive throughout auditing. All of the "big six" accounting firms are either using expert systems in their auditing practices or have such systems under development. This paper begins with a short introduction to generic tasks and the "big six" firms' expert systems activities. Auditing expert systems are then divided into three functional areas: audit program development, internal control evaluation and risk analysis, and technical assistance. This taxonomy is used to describe audit expert systems developed by accounting firms. The paper concludes with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these systems as they relate to auditing.