Korean Management Science Review (경영과학)

The Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society (한국경영과학회)
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A cost model for determining optimal audit timing with related considerations for accounting data quality enhancement

  • Kim, Kisu (Dept. of Business Education, Yeungnam University)
  • Published : 1995.08.01
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Abstract

As society's relience on computerized information systems to support a wide range of activities proliferates, the long recognized importance for adequate data quality becomes imperative. Furthermore, current trends in information systems such as dispersal of the data resource together with its management have increased the difficulty of maintaining suitable levels of data integrity. Especially, the importance of adequate accounting (transaction) data quality has been long recognized and many procedures (extensive and often elaborate checks and controls) to prevent errors in accounting systems have been introduced and developed. Nevertheless, over time, even in the best maintained systems, deficiencies in stored data will develop. In order to maintain the accuracy and reliability of accounting data at certain level, periodic internal checks and error corrections (internal audits) are required as a part of internal control system. In this paper we develop a general data quality degradation (error accumulation ) and cost model for an account in which we have both error occurrences and error amounts and provide a closed form of optimal audit timing in terms of the number of transactions that should occur before an internal audit should be initiated. This paper also considers the cost- effectiveness of various audit types and different error prevention efforts and suggests how to select the most economical audit type and error prevention method.

Keywords

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