Exploring the Position of Modern Technologies in Activating the Remote Audit Approach in Light of the Corona Pandemic - a Big 4 Case Study –

The extraordinary events of the COVID-19 pandemic have led Big 4 Audit Firms, like many other global companies, to a place where everything is different. Overnight, all practitioners worldwide have been forced to work in an entirely new environment that requires them to scramble for survival. However, the same destructive forces and the challenges of maintaining business continuity, as well as the widespread working home methods and providing remote services, have offered enormous opportunities and potentials for audit firms [in particular, Big 4 audit firms] to develop their digital innovations and increase reliance on modern technologies. Therefore, the main objective of our research lies in exploring the position of modern technologies (particularly in Big 4 audit firms) in activating the remote auditing approach considering the COVID-19 pandemic. So, in achieving the objectives of the research, we relied on the documentary descriptive approach, through which we reached several results, most notably that Modern technologies have contributed to drawing the line between what is possible in the external audit profession and what can only be imagined, by expanding the circle of possibilities and enabling auditors to practice their jobs anywhere, anytime and in real-time with the auditee, which translates into activating the remote auditing approach.