A Review and Analysis of the Existing Research Streams in Continuous Auditing

A growing body of literature related to continuous auditing topics has developed. Advances in information technology and web‐based applications are making monitoring and control of operations through continuous auditing increasingly important. The objective of this paper is to describe, summarize, and provide a framework for classifying the contributions of the diverse literature addressing the topic of continuous auditing. This paper was intended to provide researchers and practitioners with a background in continuous auditing topics. Our broad view of the literature is also designed to discover areas holding the potential for future research. Research streams are divided into five major categories: demand factors, theory and guidance, enabling technologies, applications, and impacts. Over 80 papers have been identified that relate to these areas. Many more articles exist, especially in the area of enabling technologies. However, the focus of our paper is the literature most closely related to continuous auditing.