The Effects of Adoption of Data Analytics on Audit Efficiency. A Case of KPMG Zimbabwe

Abstract

Audit clients have continuously developed big data, which is difficult for auditors to work with, especially without corresponding digital tools. This research study was on the effect of adoption of data analytics on audit efficiency at KPMG Zimbabwe. Auditors at KPMG have been spending more audit hours and costs than expected and this is because of evolution of big data by clients which is difficult to work with without full implementation of data analytics. The main objective of this study was to explore the effect of data analytics on audit efficiency. Literature was reviewed on the two variables of the study data analytics and audit efficiency. Literature on sub-objectives was also reviewed so as to enrich the study and through that review, the research gap was determined. Descriptive research design and mixed approach method were adopted for the study. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. The targeted population was the KPMG external audit department and stratified random sampling and convenient sampling was used for questionnaires and interviews respectively. Secondary and primary data was used in the study. Data collected was mainly presented in the form of tables, graphs and pie charts. Data collected through questionnaires was analyzed quantitatively by use of descriptive statistics and to be specific measures of central tendency (mode) and measures of frequency (percent) were used. Data collected through interviews was analyzed using qualitative coding and analysis. Through the respondents of the questionnaires and responses by interviewees this research discovered that adoption of data analytics has a positive effect on audit efficiency, and this was supported by other scholars who were reviewed in chapter two. This study recommended KPMG to fully adopt data analytics as this does not only improve audit efficiency, but it also improves audit quality, effectiveness and client service. Though there are challenges encountered when using data analytics, the study also discovered solutions to address those challenges.