Audit data analytics research—an application of design science methodology

SYNOPSIS: This introduction to Audit Data Analytics Research overviews the forum’s five articles that showcase recent advances in audit data analytics technology and methodology. The articles are discussed through the prism of design science research that originates in engineering and computer science. In contrast with natural and social sciences that aim to develop and test theories about the world, the objective of design science is to create new artifacts that are useful for solving important practical problems. In audit research, design science methodology was originally used implicitly in early studies devoted to developing and evaluating audit analytical procedures and audit sampling techniques. The recent advances in information technology necessitate renewed attention to this research methodology especially given the profound changes in accounting, auditing, and business processes currently underway.