A study of audit of banks in electronic data processing (EDP) environment with reference to some selected Islamic banks in Middle East (1990-2004)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:The banks as one of the earliest well-known terminologies in the economy has always affected the life of human being and also they have always accepted the changes forced by this human being. In not much years ago, based on a paper society, the banks created the new ways of thought about banking products and customers were following their banks, in other words the concept of traditional banking industry on the basis of collection of funds from one group of society and allocation of these collected funds to other groups of society on the nature of paper society formed, in where the thought about banking industry by management, shareholders, government, customers, etc. was restricted in the banks’ covered-walls and the possibility of supervising, auditing of banks could be on the basis of paper society conducted. Nowadays, based on a paper less society, the modern concept of banking industry by using the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) system has been formed and as a result, the road ahead the banking industry has been changed to multiple and complex, so the banks are following their customers who want convenience, choice and control in the minimum time and maximum quality, so that duration of services presentation has been required in 24 hours banking services and 7 days banking works in where the thought about banking industry by management, shareholders, government, customers, etc. could not be restricted in the banks’ covered-walls and the possibility of supervising, auditing of banks have to be on the basis of paperless society conducted. Accordingly this study that has been titled under ‘A study of audit of banks in Electronic Data Processing (EDP) environment with reference to some selected Islamic banks in Middle East (1990-2004)’ would focus its emphasis on the audit of banks in Electronic Data Processing (EDP) system and search about usefulness of new auditing techniques namely Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs), addition to manual audit techniques in where the EDP system could be defined as the use of electronics such as a computer to process data.