Breakwater Accounting Advisors LLP.

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATS)

computer assisted audit technologies

Production and financial reporting systems generate a wealth of data. Using this data, auditors can perform their statutory audits with a higher level of audit assurance by including CAATs on their engagements. Breakwater has the expertise in auditing and data analytic tools to assist auditors in incorporating CAATs on their engagements to save time, reduce costs and lower their audit risk.

Do any of these challenges happen on your engagements?

Substantive audit approach with a high number of transactions
System integration challenges
Complex system calculations
System or data conversions
SAS99 Fraud testing requirements

The tools we use are powerful and can query large databases and analyze vast amounts of data in an efficient and cost effective manner that would not be otherwise feasible. Using CAAT’s we have helped auditors:

Save significant audit hours with tests performed in less time than it takes to manually perform the same task. Savings are generally 40-60% of the time for the test that is automated.
Obtain a higher level of audit coverage by testing 100% transactions versus a sample of items.
Obtain future savings in subsequent years with the same data analysis routines run in minimal time. (An eight hour test in year 1, might only take two hours in year 2.)
Increase audit scope by performing tests in areas that would not normally be included.

Our Services for External Auditors include:

Re-performance of system generated reports
Recalculation of account balances
Random sample selection for manual review
Exception reporting
SAS99 journal entry fraud CAATs