A Comparison of the Information Technology Knowledge of United States and German Auditors

The International Federation of Accountants has stated that competence in informationtechnology is imperative for the professional accountant due to its pervasive use in the businessworld. Auditors would normally be expected to have higher knowledge than the averageaccountant since they must audit the work of many different clients with diverse informationsystems. We surveyed 2,500 United States and German auditing professionals to determine theirself-reported knowledge levels (IT self-efficacy) of 36 information technologies, some of whichinclude various emerging technologies. Responses totaled 587 for a 23.5% overall response rate.A factor analysis of the 36 individual technologies revealed five underlying general constructs.Response statistics indicated both countries lacked significant knowledge for three of these fiveconstructs.Scores were then culturally standardized to appropriately compare United States andGerman responses. German auditors had significantly higher knowledge for the construct ofnetworking and data transfer. U.S. auditors had significantly higher knowledge for threeconstructs: ecommerce technologies, general office automation, and audit automation technologies.No differences were found for the construct of accounting firm office automation technologies.This study provides a foundation and methodology by which future researchers can measurewhether, as an “emerging technology” matures, greater convergence will occur over time acrosscultures in factor analysis, as in the case of the more mature construct, general office automations.