Tendency to the Use of Continuous Auditing by Internal Auditors

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the tendency to the use of continuous auditing by internal audits in the companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange. The concept of continuous auditing backs to two decades ago, but despite its numerous advantages, the acceptance and use of it has been much slow. In this study, we interviewed with internal auditors in 75 companies to determine the state of use of continuous auditing. Using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, we found that there exist six reasons for the tendencies to the use of continuous auditing by internal auditors. Among them, ease of use, organizational support and social influences are the most important determinants of the tendencies. Also, of the remaining reasons, annual sales volume and voluntary use of auditing services moderate the relationship between organizational support and social influence, significantly. The last reason, promoting auditing function and specialty, could not be considered valid predictor for the proposed tendencies.

Keywords

• continuous audit
• internal audit
• unified theory of acceptance
• use of technology