Pros And Cons Of Paperless Auditing

Register to read the introduction… There are various definitions of paperless auditing, and the one we have formed is that paperless auditing is the process of applying audit procedures and documenting these procedures with the use of limited hard copies. The whole goal behind going paperless is to eliminate the paper trail as much as possible. It is also important to note that there are varying degrees of going paperless. In the society we live in today it is pretty difficult for a company to be completely paperless. According to Jeff Stimpson in The Nitty-Gritty of Going Paperless, "paperless, or, more accurately, ‘document management,' can start as simply as outputting tax forms and documentation to PDF files instead of paper, using a paperless audit product, e-filing, and using more e-mail than snail-mail to communicate." As you can see going paperless does not have to be a difficult project, but it does require the organization to commit to it fully in order to be successful. In order to proceed to a paperless firm, a general understanding of the programs that make this possible is …show more content…
First, the time required to obtain documents and work is greatly reduced. The time that is required to locate old paper files, and request forms to be filed are all reduced. All you need to do is pull it up on the network and look at it. In the long term, costs are projected to be reduced. You no longer need binders and large amount of office supplies for client files. Your current IT staff can maintain a file storage system, which is relatively easy to do. Space is another advantage. The old paper files required a large amount of office space to store. If the firm did not have sufficient space in their office a storage space would need to be rented or an outside company would need to be contracted with to store the files. With a paperless storage system all you need is one room to maintain your servers. The former space could then be converted to offices, or could be removed completely. The paperless system can also increase productivity and efficiency. Staff can become more efficient in processing client information. This can lead to an increase in client retention, client services, and even an increase in your client base. Instead of taking a day or two to get back to the client, it can be done over the phone or through e-mail, since information can be pulled up on the computer by opening documents on the network. Finally, a firms risk is reduced. Paper files stored in a central filing room can be destroyed by flood or fire. With the paperless storage these files can be located in multiple servers in multiple locations. With a policy of daily backup the most that can be lost is a days worth of