EDP Audit Education and EDP Auditor Characteristics: Empirical Data from Practitioners and Professors.

EDP auditing is a rapidly evolving segment of the accounting curriculum. Concern exists among both EDP professors and practicing EDP professionals as to appropriate course content. This paper explores that issue and reports comparative survey results from both groups. Further, the issue of desirable traits in future EDP auditors is addressed. Generally, there was substantial agreement between the academicians and practitioners both on topics to be taught and on desirable auditor traits. Academicians did tend to give greater importance to the teaching of test evaluation methods than did practitioners. Practitioners, however, gave greater importance to the use of microcomputers and to the acquisition of speaking and writing skills than did professors.