CPA firm’s cloud auditing provider for performance evaluation and improvement: an empirical case of China
Abstract
While CPA (Certified Public Accountant) firms utilize cloud auditing technologies to generate auditing reports and convey information to their clients in the Internet of Things (IoT) Era, they often cannot determine whether cloud auditing is a secure and effective form of communication with clients. Strategies related to cloud auditing provider evaluation and improvement planning are inherently multiple attribute decision making (MADM) issues and are very important to the auditor industry. To overcome these problems, this paper proposes an evaluation and improvement planning model to be a reference for CPA firms selecting the best cloud auditing provider, and illustrates an application of such a model through an empirical case study. The DEMATEL (decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) approach is first used to analyze the interactive influence relationship map (IIRM) between the criteria and dimensions of cloud auditing technology. DANP (DEMATEL-based ANP) is then employed to calculate the influential weights of the dimensions and criteria. Finally, the modified VIKOR method is utilized to provide improvement priorities for performance cloud auditing provider satisfaction. Based on expert interviews, the recommendations for improvement priorities are privacy, security, processing integrity, availability, and confidentiality. This approach is expected to support the auditor industry to systematically improve their cloud auditing provider selection.
Keyword : CPA (Certified Public Accountant), Cloud computing, provider selection, MADM (multiple attribute decision making), DEMATEL technique, IIRM (interactive influence relationship map), DANP (DEMATEL-based ANP), modified VIKOR method
How to Cite
Hu, K.-H., Chen, F.-H., & Tzeng, G.-H. (2018). CPA firm’s cloud auditing provider for performance evaluation and improvement: an empirical case of China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(6), 2338-2373. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2018.6619
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Chen, F. H., Tzeng, G. H., & Chang, C. C. (2015). Evaluating the enhancement of corporate social responsibility websites quality based on a new hybrid MADM model. International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making, 14(3), 697-724. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219622015500121
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Chou, D. C. (2015). Cloud computing risk and audit issues. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 42, 137-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2015.06.005
Dastjerdi, A. V., Tabatabaei, S. G. H., & Buyya, R. (2010). An effective architecture for automated appliance management system applying ontology based cloud discovery. In 10th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Cluster, Cloud and Grid Computing (CCGrid), 2010. Melbourne, Australia: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/CCGRID.2010.87
Deng, D., Wen, S., Chen, F. H., & Lin, S. L. (2018). A hybrid multiple criteria decision making model of sustainability performance evaluation for Taiwanese certified public accountant firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 603-616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.107
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Dowling, C., & Leech, S. A. (2014). A big 4 firm’s use of information technology to control the audit process: How an audit support system is changing auditor behavior. Contemporary Accounting Research, 31(1), 230-252. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3846.12010
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Ghosh, N., Ghosh, S. K., & Das, S. K. (2015). SelCSP: A framework to facilitate selection of cloud service providers. IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, 3(1), 66-79. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCC.2014.2328578
Godse, M., & Mulik, S. (2009, September 21-25). An approach for selecting software-as-a-service (SaaS) product. In IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing (pp. 155-158). Bangalore, India. https://doi.org/10.1109/CLOUD.2009.74
Gray, D. (2008). Forensic accounting and auditing: Compared and contrasted to traditional accounting and auditing. American Journal of Business Education, 1(2), 115-126. https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v1i2.4630
Hsu, W. C. J., Tsai, M. H., & Tzeng, G. H. (2018). Exploring the best strategy plan for improving the digital convergence by using a hybrid MADM model. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(1), 164-198. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2016.1205531
Hu, K. H., Chen, F. H., Tzeng, G. H., & Lee, J. D. (2015). Improving corporate governance effects on an enterprise crisis based on a new hybrid DEMATEL with the MADM model. Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 43(6), 1395-1412. https://doi.org/10.1520/JTE20140094
Hu, K.-H., Jianguo, W., & Tzeng, G.-H. (2018). Improving China’s regional financial center modernization development using a new hybrid MADM model. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(2), 429-466. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2016.1213195
Janvrin, D., Caster, P., & Elder, R. (2010). Enforcement release evidence on the audit confirmation process: Implications for standard setters. Research in Accounting Regulation, 22(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.racreg.2010.02.002
Kanagasabai, R. (2012). OWL-S based semantic cloud service broker. In IEEE 19th International Conference on Web Services (ICWS) (pp. 560-567). IEEE: Honolulu, HI.
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