Blockchain technology and the audit profession. “Disruptive technology?”

Abstract

Nowadays, technological developments are going faster than ever, also in the field of accounting and auditing. Blockchain technology is identified as a potentially disruptive technology. Scientific literature has shown that there is a need for insights into the current and expected influence of blockchain technology on the auditing profession; 'how does it influence the role of the auditor?'. This report describes the research on the influence of BT on the auditing profession. This is done on the basis of literature research regarding the traditional audit process, the traditional auditor and the audit expectations gap. The empirical results were collected by interviewing five EY employees and three experts from DBC, NBA, and Saxion. Subsequently, a link was made between the subjects of the literature review and the empirical results. This showed that BT has the greatest influence on starting and junior auditors, because their simple manual-based activities can be simplified or eliminated by blockchain technology. Moreover, the important professional judgment of the auditor will become even more important. Finally, it can be concluded that a new audit space is emerging, namely the assurance on BT.

Keywords: Blockchain technology, audit profession, audit expectations gap, traditional audit, professional judgement