Perform an Audit from your Desk

Deloitte & Touche [1] and Intacct [2] have announced the formation of an agreement to co-develop a web-based accounting service that will be available by subscription to accounting firms everywhere. The professional marriage pairs the accounting knowledge of Deloitte and Touche with the software engineering skills of Intacct, and the resulting product will be described as a "breakthrough for the accounting profession," according to David Thomas, CEO of Intacct.

The new service is expected to provide auditors with the ability to access client records remotely and should allow for collaboration of audit team members from different locations. Accountants will be able to integrate auditing tools with accounting and record-keeping capabilities with the result being a greater ability to understand test a client's financial information.

Could this process take the place of traditional in-your-face audits? And will the safeguards prevent a savvy computer operator at the client company from protecting access to certain records? Web-based auditing is certainly the first step to redefining the auditing process for the 21st century.