Drivers Contributing to the Implementation of Generalized Audit Software (GAS) within Audit Firms in Malaysia

Abstract

Many businesses are moving towards the usage of information technology to be in line with their daily operations. Traditional audit methods are no longer relevant these days. Generalized Audit Software (GAS) is a type of software that is suitable for auditors to perform audit tasks. GAS can assist auditors to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of audit. To date, the development of GAS in audit firms is still low, although many practitioners had argued that auditors can receive greater benefits by using GAS. This research is motivated by an interest in understanding drivers contributing to the implementation of GAS within audit firms located in the central region of Malaysia. Prior studies had placed more focus on internal auditors in large accounting firms, or auditors in other countries. However, there were not many researches being conducted on small and medium-sized audit firms in Malaysia. This study is therefore intended to fill in this gap. Data were collected using questionnaire survey on small and medium-sized audit firms registered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in the central region of Malaysia. A total of 96 responses were analysed using multiple regression analysis. It was found that performance expectation, effort expectation and facilitating conditions had significantly influenced the implementation of GAS among small and medium-sized audit firms. However, social influence was found to have no significant relationship. The outcome of this study might help audit firms, software developers and academia to increase the usage of GAS to perform audit tasks. Future research should further explore on the influence of gender, age, voluntariness, experience, and other drivers contributing to the implementation of GAS within audit firms.