ABSTRACT:
This article investigates the relationship between the educational and
work background of computer auditors and their perception of the effectiveness
of internal control procedures for specific control objectives in computerized
environments. The study is based on an experiment in which computer
auditors used the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate automated
and non-automated control procedures.
The results of this exploratory analysis suggest that, in some cases,
there appears to be an association between computer auditors' background
and their evaluation of automated control procedures. There were several
instances where higher weights were assigned to completely automated
control procedures by computer auditors with MIS/CS academic education
and MIS work experience. More computer audit experience and accounting
work experience, in different cases, were associated with higher weights
(lower weights) for control procedures considered the most effective
(least effective) by the participants. Several significant interaction
terms suggested that these work experiences can also dampen reliance
on automated controls. This study found no evidence that computer auditors
with either accounting academic education or financial audit experience
relied more on non-automated control procedures.
Keywords: Control objectives, Control procedures, IS auditing, Analytical
hierarchy process, Computer information systems
Data Availability: Subject to limitations imposed by confidentiality
provisions and copyright restrictions, the authors agree to provide
information from the survey data. Copies of the survey instrument itself
may be obtained by contacting the authors.