Determinants of audit automation adoption among audit firms in Ghana

Automation is widely recognised to be revolutionising the auditing profession. Despite the known benefits, it is reported that auditors are not fully leveraging the potential value of certain automated tools and techniques. To understand why, this study aims to draw on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to empirically examine the determinants of audit automation adoption by audit firms in Ghana. The study conforms to the positivist paradigm which agrees with the quantitative approach and an explanatory research design; structured questionnaires were administered to 190 respondents from various audit firms in good standing with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) using Google Forms. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) via Smart PLS was used for the analysis and testing of the hypotheses. Importance performance map analysis (IPMA) was conducted to enhance a deeper understanding of the findings. Performance expectancy and effort expectancy have a positive and significant influence on audit automation adoption by audit firms in Ghana. This implies that auditors will be willing to use audit automation when they perceive that it will enhance their performance and that the use of audit automation will mean less effort will be required from the auditors. The study contributes to the literature by advancing the understanding of the importance of performance expectancy and effort expectancy as determinants of audit automation adoption. This extends the theoretical understanding of the UTAUT model.