How the use of audit software affects audit effectiveness

This master thesis investigates the impact of audit software on audit effectiveness, and the role of auditors’ competence in using the software. The aim of our study is to increase the understanding of how software competence can affect the auditor's ability to achieve its intended objectives, which is to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements. To conduct our research, we used a qualitative approach and in-depth interviews as our research method. We had a total of 10 auditors from both Big5 and non-Big5, all our informants had over 5 years of experience in auditing. Using senior staff informants with higher audit experience who willingly shared their knowledge on audit software gave us valuable insights about the impact of audit software and competence on audit effectiveness. Our results show that the effects of audit software on audit effectiveness are highly dependent on auditors' competence to use the software. In order to make use of all the benefits provided by the software, auditors must have adequate competence to utilize and understand the software functions and correctly interpret the software results.