Big data analytics has emerged as a transformative force in the financial auditing landscape, fundamentally reshaping audit quality, financial insight generation, and compliance reliability. Traditional auditing methods, while valuable, often struggle to manage the scale, velocity, and complexity of modern financial data. By integrating big data analytics, auditors can now harness structured and unstructured datasets to detect anomalies, identify trends, and derive actionable insights with greater precision. This technological shift improves audit quality by reducing reliance on sampling techniques and enabling full-population testing, thereby minimizing the risk of undetected errors and fraudulent activities. Big data tools also enhance the timeliness and relevance of audits, offering near real-time monitoring capabilities that support proactive decision-making. Beyond improving audit quality, big data analytics provides deeper financial insights by uncovering hidden correlations, performance drivers, and predictive patterns that inform strategic planning and risk management. These advanced insights empower organizations to strengthen governance frameworks and align financial practices with long-term sustainability goals. Furthermore, compliance reliability is reinforced as big data solutions facilitate continuous auditing, automated rule checks, and dynamic dashboards that ensure adherence to regulatory standards. By fostering transparency and accountability, big data analytics reduces compliance failures, enhances stakeholder trust, and supports ethical financial reporting. However, challenges such as data integration, cybersecurity risks, and the need for skilled talent remain significant considerations for organizations adopting these technologies. This paper contends that big data analytics does not replace professional judgment but complements it, equipping auditors with advanced tools to deliver more robust, efficient, and reliable outcomes. Ultimately, the convergence of big data analytics and auditing creates a paradigm shift that not only enhances audit quality and financial insight but also strengthens compliance frameworks, ensuring organizational resilience and governance integrity in an increasingly data-driven economy.
Dako et al. (2020) studied this question.