Digitalization’s impact on auditing

The current business environment demand financial information which are considered relevant and reliable, to ease the managers, investors and employees’decision-making. Auditing has acted as a controlling body to ensure credible information. The audit industry is one of many industries that are constantly changing due to digitalization. Digitalization is considered to be one of society's strongest global forces of change. The aim of the study is to create an increased understanding of the impact of digitalization on auditing and to fulfil the purpose of the study, which is done by answering how the audit process changes due to digitalization and what skills that are necessary for auditors in the digital environment. A qualitative research strategy is applied, where ten semistructured interviews were conducted with both system developers and auditors.The theoretical framework and empirics are structured by the audit process, digitalization and competence needs. Furthermore, the analysis is based on different answers of the respondents and relevant theory. The study implies that the industry is positively influenced by the digitalization, where efficiency is one of the top benefits. The audit process undergoes a shift from statistical selections to data analyses of companies' entire data volumes. Manual operations are eliminated and gives the auditors more time for consulting. The role of consultant requires more qualified knowledge and therefore the study also demonstrate a knowledge gap between universities and audit firms. Digitalization has created a demand for more qualified staff that leads to fewer newly graduated persons being employed. The study also displays that IT-knowledge is one of the key competencies in the future audit industry