Corporate Governance Technology Applications to Accounting and Audit Quality Surveillance

The critical role of accounting and audit surveillance in corporate governance has recently been highlighted through a number of well known corporate collapses. Following cases like Enron and Worldcom in the United States and HIH Insurance in Australia, accounting and audit surveillance is increasingly in demand as an important toolset in decision making by market participants that include company directors and auditors, insurers, lenders, analysts, and investors.

This article outlines the value of and underlying demand for surveillance applications of research-based corporate governance technology solutions that facilitate benchmarking of company accounting and audit quality. The Capital Markets CRC (www.cmcrc.com)is a cooperative research centre across universities and industry established with a mandate from the Australian government (along with its funding support) to undertake research into corporate governance surveillance and to work with business to deploy surveillance technology solutions worldwide. We overview some of the key research upon which the technology is being constructed and explain how the technology can be used to maintain surveillance over aspects of accounting and audit quality of interest to various market participants.

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