The Opinion of Auditors towards the Importance and Knowledge of Information Technology in Kuwait

Abstract

The current study attempts to explore the attitudes of the auditors towards the level of knowledge of Information Technology (IT) and its importance in Kuwait. To achieve these objectives, structure questionnaires were distributed among these auditors. The analysis covers 5 technology categories namely General Office Automation (GOA), Audit Automation (AA), Accounting Firm Office Automation (AFOA), E-Commerce Technologies (ECT) and System Design and Implementation (SDI).It is found that the view of auditors to IT knowledge degree is lower than their view towards the importance of the technologies. The auditors have satisfactory knowledge only in GOA category and unsatisfactory knowledge for other four categories. It is also found that auditors rank AFOA category is the most significant category in terms of IT importance and knowledge and rank (ECT) the lowest category in terms of both importance and IT knowledge.

The influence of personal characteristics and workplace learning on information technology competency among external auditors: The role of organisational culture as a moderator

“…However, auditors still prefer to apply traditional audit procedures when forming an audit opinion (Ahmi & Kent, 2013;Bierstaker et al, 2014;Siew et al, 2020). Previous studies reported a low level of IT competency among auditors (Al-Duwaila & Abdullah, 2017;Greenstein & McKee, 2004;Strong & Portz, 2015). Particularly in Yemen, external auditors face the deficiency of knowledge and skills related to IT audit processes, contributing to their inefficiency in using technology effectively (Al-Ansi, 2015;Al-Sorihi, 2014).…”

“…Previous IT competency studies on accounting practitioners have focused on issues related to their level of IT knowledge, the importance of IT skills, the identification of IT skills requirements, the alignment of IT knowledge and IT importance, and the integration of IT competency into accounting curricula (Al-Duwaila & Abdullah, 2017;Bahador & Haider, 2017;Greenstein & McKee, 2004;Spraakman et al, 2015). However, only a few studies have examined the factors that impact the IT competency of accountants (Alkhaffaf et al, 2017(Alkhaffaf et al, , 2018Bahador & Haider, 2020).…”

Skills Development Factors of Information Technology Competency Among External Auditors

“…FromdifferentperspectivesofITcompetency,previousstudieshavefocusedonissuesrelated todeterminingtherequirementofITskillsforaccountingpractitioners,theimportanceofITskills foraccountingpractitioners,theintegrationofITcompetencyintotheaccountingcurriculum,the levelofITknowledgeamongaccountingpractitioners,andthealignmentbetweenITknowledge and IT importance among accounting practitioners (Al-Duwaila & Abdullah, 2017;Bahador et al,2018;Greenstein&McKee,2004;Spraakmanetal.,2015).However,onlyafewstudieshave examinedthefactorsthatinfluencedtheITcompetencyofaccountants (Alkhaffaf,Idris,Abdullah, &Al-Aidaros,2017Bahador,2014).Forexample, Bahador(2014)conductedaqualitative studytodevelopanITcompetencyframeworkforprofessionalaccountantsandproposedseveral skillsdevelopmentfactorsthatmightinfluenceITcompetency.Amongthosefactorswereaccounting education,professionalaccountingbodies,andself-directedlearning(SDL).MotivatedbyBahador's study, Alkhaffafet al(2017Alkhaffafet al( ,2018studieddifferentfactorsthatinfluencedITcompetencies,such asachievement,motivation,andgoalsetting.Alkhaffaf'studyfocusedonITcompetenciesamong accountantsworkinginthepublicsectorinIraqanddidnotconcentrateonspecificgroups,such asexternalauditors,andrecommendedmoreresearchtobeundertakentoidentifythefactorsthat influenceITcompetencyfromdifferentcontextsandperspectives.Therefore,thisstudyaimstofill thisgapbyexaminingtheinfluenceofaccountingeducation,professionalaccountingbodies,and SDLontheITcompetencyofexternalauditorsinYemen.…”