It is now widely accepted that errors in spreadsheets are both common and potentially dangerous. Further research has taken place to investigate how frequently these errors occur, what impact they have, how the risk of spreadsheet errors can be reduced by following spreadsheet design guidelines and methodologies, and how effective auditing of a spreadsheet is in the detection of these errors. H...

This paper is a first step in the analysis of the use of signals of taxpayer’s incomes by tax audit authorities. In a very simple model, we consider the design of the audit strategy when the tax authority can commit to it and has free access to a signal correlated with the taxpayer’s true income. We discuss the optimal enforcement policy and compare it with the optimal one when only self-report...

The protection of sensitive information is of utmost importance for organizations. The complexity and dynamism of modern businesses are forcing a re-think of traditional protection mechanisms. In particular, a priori policy enforcement mechanisms are often complemented with auditing mechanisms that rely on an a posteriori analysis of logs recording users’ activities to prove conformity to polic...

Spreadsheets are an important device for computer based decision support. In this capacity, they might reach a level of complexity and show evolutionary patterns similar to conventional software. However, as end-user devices, they are not subjected to as rigorous a development and maintenance process as professionally written software. Thus, the significance of the decisions they are supporting...

Computations in spreadsheets are hard to grasp and consequently many errors remain unnoticed. The problem with the hidden errors lies in the invisibility of the structure of calculations. As a result, auditing and visualization tools are required to make spreadsheets easier to comprehend and errors easier to be detected. This paper presents a theoretical model of spreadsheets, and describes var...

There is a significant growth of behavior economics in the last decade. The goal of the behavior research is aimed at the deviations from rationality in order to improve the predictive power of economic models. In this paper, attached to the specific auditing process, I want to classify the neglecting relevant information due to judgment by representative which causes the bias, or the error of ...

Auditing standards are undergoing revision in the wake of recent, massive audit failures. Legislative and regulatory bodies are focusing more critically on auditors than ever before. Yet, contemplated revisions to auditing standards leave untouched ambiguities and unresolved issues that have reduced the effectiveness of the authoritative literature for decades. One of the longest-standing issue...

In the age of real-time accounting and real-time communication current audit practices, while effective, often provide audit results long after fraud and/or errors have occurred. Real-time assurances can assist in preventing intentional or unintentional errors. This can best be achieved through continuous auditing which relies heavily on technology. These technologies are embedded within and ar...

Computations in spreadsheets are hard to grasp and consequently many errors remain unnoticed. The problem with the hidden errors lies in the invisibility of the structure of calculations. As a result, auditing and visualization tools are required to make spreadsheets easier to comprehend and errors easier to be detected. This paper presents a theoretical model of spreadsheets, and describes var...

The purposes of this paper are: (1) to provide background on the heuristics and biases approach to decision making; (2) to describe some of the issues being debated in psychology concerning this approach; (3) to review relevant studies from the behavioral auditing research literature; (4) to provide comments on the trends in the auditing literature; (5) to offer comments about the advantages an...