The Role of IT Infrastructure in Remote Audits: Evidence from Audits Completed During the Pandemic

SUMMARY The unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the transition to remote audits becoming the new normal. However, remote audits do not occur in a vacuum but require supportive information technology (IT) infrastructure. Distinct from the literature, we develop a measure that captures the extent to which lockdown days affect the audit and introduce a measure of IT infrastructure. Our baseline findings indicate that longer lockdowns occurring during the audit are associated with lower audit fees, longer audit report lag, and lower audit quality. Hypotheses test results reveal that stronger client IT infrastructure moderates the effect of longer lockdowns occurring during the audit, resulting in effective and efficient audits. Our robust results have timely and relevant implications for the literature, policy makers, and the profession. Our study underscores that the efficacy of remote audits will hinge on the quality of IT infrastructure through which remote audits are implemented. Data Availability: All data are available from sources cited in the text.