Audit Practices and Tecnology Adoption in the Era of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The goal of the study was to assess audit practices in the era of coronavirus pandemic in the audit service. To guide the analysis, three research objectives were formulated, namely: to examine the audit practices adopted by the staffs of the Ghana Audit Service in the Cape Coast Metropolis prior to the coronavirus pandemic; assess the audit procedures adopted by the staff of the audit service in the Cape Coast Metropolis to obtain audit evidence in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: and investigate the drivers of technology adoption in the Audit Service during the COVID-19 pandemic. The target population for the study was the staff of Ghana Audit Service in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The researcher used 76 auditors in the auditing department of the Ghana Audit service in the Cape Coast Metropolis. To collect data from the respondents, a closed-ended questionnaire was used. For the analysis of the results, structural equation models were used. The study found observation and analytical procedures to be the most predominant practices used by auditors before the pandemic. The study further found analytical procedures and enquiry directly from third parties to be the most adopted practices during the Covid-19 era. The study confirmed that perceived benefits, social influence and ease of use positively related to technology adoptance whilst perceived risk related negatively. It concluded that audit technology such as computer-aided auditing tools (CAATS) should be easy to use and have the confirmation of well-meaning people, which can greatly influence auditors’ acceptance. The study recommended that management of Audit Service in Cape Coast can develop new Audit software which are very easy to use and have the affirmation of well meaningful people in the society thus influencing perceived usefulness.