Open AccessOn the impact of smart contracts on auditing
Author(s) -
Javier De Andrés,
Pedro Tedde de Lorca
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the international journal of digital accounting research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.288
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 2340-5058
pISSN - 1577-8517
DOI - 10.4192/1577-8517-v21_6
Subject(s) - audit , key (lock) , business , computer security , field (mathematics) , the internet , internal audit , process management , risk analysis (engineering) , blockchain , computer science , accounting , world wide web , mathematics , pure mathematics
The use of smart contracts has grown exponentially over the last few years. This is a phenomenon associated with the development of other technologies, such as the blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT). Smart contracts run in a decentralized way on the blockchain and are self- executing. This is a source of advantages in business operations, but there are also some limitations and drawbacks. Regulatory issues are also of key importance, as the legal frameworks differ across countries. Smart contracts are likely to have an impact on external auditing, as external auditors will have to adapt their capabilities and procedures to an environment where many companies use this technology. But smart contracts may also be used to define a framework which ensures continuous audit reports and direct access of authorized stakeholders to the results of audit procedures. Conversely, internal auditing will also experiment changes, both caused by a series of new risks that will have to be adequately addressed and new tools to monitor business operations. In addition, some promising research opportunities arise, both in the IT, the Legal and the Business field.