Investigating the Impact of Digital Transformation of External Audit-ing on their Business in the Egyp-tian Context

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of Accounting and Dean of the College of Management and Technology - South Valley Branch

Abstract

Technology improvements are reflected in the demand for audits. Some authors claimed that regarding the role of assurance, a new audit role is emerging. Some others claimed that the ability of auditing firms to guarantee audits in these new industries is what decides whether an audit may be spread to other fields. The profession's capacity to modify audit procedures and programs, pick up new skills, expand the scope of their audit services, and enhance their standing in these new fields are keys to whether this is possible. Examining the possibilities and challenges of the digital revolution of external audit and how it could impact Egyptian business is the goal of the current research. This research aims to investigate the effects of digital audit job transformation on audit process quality. It also seeks to ascertain how the digital revolution would affect the improvement of auditor performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. To achieve the research aim, a semi-structured interview is conducted with technology experts and auditing managers from Egyptian companies of external audit activities. The interviews' responses were examined using the qualitative analysis program NVivo - version 12. As a result, several themes and variables have been developed based on the results of thematic and content analysis of interviews with expert managers in external auditing.  Results revealed that digital transformation of external auditing contributes to providing new services with added value, avoiding business challenges, as well as supporting innovation.

Keywords