The Impact of the Use of Information Technology in Estimating and Reducing Audit Risks - an Applied Study in the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau of the Republic of Iraq and the Audit Offices of the Iraqi Association of Certified Public Accountants

Abstract

The research aims to show the impact of the use of information technology in reducing audit risks and increasing the predictive ability to estimate these risks. The research dealt in its conceptual aspect with the concept and importance of the elements of information technology and its functions, its role in the development of accounting systems and its control tools, and its role in the development of the audit profession and the risks that accompany it. The audit risk was also addressed in terms of its concept and its relationship to relative importance, its impact on the credibility of audit results, its basic components (inherent risks, control risks, and detection risks), and the process of estimating them. On the practical side, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to 232 auditors from the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau of the Republic of Iraq and members of the Iraqi Association of Certified Public Accountants, and the data were collected about the relationship between information technology and the estimation and reduction of audit risks, and it was found that there is a clear correlation and impact between them. The research recommended the adoption of information technology on a large scale, including government units and public and private sector companies, due to the spread of information technology accounting applications, and for their clear role in estimating and reducing audit risk (inherent risk, control risk, and detection risk).