THE ROLE OF AUDITOR IN COMPUTERIZED ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS. A RESEARCH PROJECT MATERIAL ON ACCOUNTING
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Computer is an electric device, which accept and process data by following a set of instruction (programmers) to produce an accurate and efficient result (information). It is very systemic and complex and operates within a system theory. It has input, control processing units, output and the backing storage. A computer may be analog; digit and hybrid computers. It can also be mainframe, mini, or micro computer.
Computer has passed many generation. We are now in the fifth generation of computer known as the micro age. Computer of this generation uses artificial intelligent. It is important that the auditor, auditing in computer environment, like companies to the aware of the nature of computer accounting system uses in such companies.
A computerized accounting system is a system which the electronic data processing (EDP) is used in recording, processing, retrieving and up dating the accounting records. The use of EDP in accounting system keeps a very wide range accounting information. Such as pay roll, purchases and creditor ledger , sales and debtors ledger, and cash books, inventories, fixed assets as well as financial analysis of profit projection or forecasting cash flow and statement budgeting, capital investment and many others.
The use of computer in the accounting system ensure more efficient and reliability in processing of information, since computer hardly make mistakes. Unless mistake resulting from faulty data input.
In auditing organization with computerized system, the auditor responsibilities and duties do not change rather it is the means and form of processing financial that changes.
The auditor still owns the duty of skill and care in carrying out his assignment or engagement. It becomes indispensable that the auditor should, acquaint himself with the particular management information system, especially the computer installation concerned.