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Abstract

The development of EDI technology has created many concerns and challenges for the auditing profession. Along with its many suggested benefits, the technology brings an important potential to change business information systems and the way businesses operate. As a consequence, it may put auditors in a new audit environment and may thus force significant modification to the established methods of auditing. This study identifies important EDI audit issues as viewed by information systems auditors in the greater Vancouver area. A three round Delphi methodology was used to solicit opinions from a group of IS audit experts. The expert respondents predominantly held managerial positions in internal audit functions while their organizations comprised a wide cross section of sizes and industries. The research findings reveal a consensus set of eleven most important issues. Among these EDI audit issues, "Controls Over EDI Network", "Backup, Disaster Recovery and Contingency Plans", "Auditability and Audit Trail", "Audit Involvement during the System Development", and "Legal and Audit Evidence" are rated in the top five ranks.