The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of blockchain technology on future of external auditing in Nigeria. Decentralized network and consensus mechanism were the proxies for blockchain technology. Thus, two hypotheses were formulated to guide the investigation and the statistical test of parameter estimates was conducted using least squares regression model operated with E-Views.12. Survey design was adopted and data for the study was obtained through the use of e-questionnaire survey sent to the various Staff WhatsApp Group Platform of the selected audit firms in Anambra State Nigeria. The results of the study reveal that the use of decentralized network has positive and significant effect on the future of external auditing in Nigeria at 1% level of significance. Also, the use of consensus mechanism in auditing has positive and significant effect on the future of external auditing in Nigeria at 5% significant level. Based on this, the study concludes that blockchain technology ensure the future of external auditing in Nigeria. In lieu of the findings of the study, the study recommends for the continual use of decentralized network in auditing as the future of external auditing lies on it. Also, the use of consensus mechanism should also be encouraged as it ensures accuracy and reliability in audit reporting.
The study investigated digital currency and blockchain technology in the 21st century financial ecosystem. The empirical study adopted a descriptive survey design. A questionnaire was used for data collection in a sample size of 121 selected randomly from the staff and students of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba. The data collected from the respondents were analyzed with the frequency distribution table and chi-square (x2 ) statistical technique. The findings revealed the imperativeness of digital currency and blockchain technology in the 21st century financial ecosystem. In other words, digital currency and blockchain technology has significant effect with financial ecosystem. The study, therefore, recommended among others that Central bank of Nigeria, legislators and financial stakeholders should collaborate to establish compliance standards and best practices for digital currency and blockchain integration in financial ecosystem. These standards should ensure that digital currency algorithms and blockchain technology conform with regulatory requirements and ethical principles, while promoting transparency and accountability.
Digital accounting has become an emerging concept that integrates traditional accounting with digital technologies and cybersecurity. This article explores, from an academic perspective, the ethical, technical, and information security implications associated with the digital transformation of accounting, both in professional business practice and university teaching. Using a mixed methodology (quantitative and qualitative), the global and regional state of the art is analyzed, incorporating a case study applied in Costa Rica. The findings demonstrate that the rapid digitization of accounting raises ethical dilemmas (such as data confidentiality and algorithmic transparency), technical challenges (adoption of accounting 4.0, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing), and significant cybersecurity risks to the protection of financial information. In the Costa Rican and Latin American context, a gap is observed between technological evolution and current regulatory frameworks, as well as a need to strengthen professional training in digital ethics. It concludes with more specific recommendations for academia, the accounting profession, and public policy, aimed at promoting a culture of responsible innovation, improving security controls in financial management, and updating the skills of public accountants to face each of the challenges of the digital age.
Freddy Patricio Domínguez Luna, Darwin Vladimir Rivera Piñaloza
Ecuador's decentralized autonomous governments (GAD) face significant challenges in effectively implementing internal control systems, compromising transparency and efficient use of public resources. This study analyzes the efficiency of COSO framework-based internal control systems in Bolívar province's GADs during 2023-2024, a region characterized by institutional limitations, high rurality, and poverty levels above the national average. Through a mixed-methods approach combining documentary analysis of 189 audit reports, structured questionnaires administered to 82 public officials, and semi-structured interviews with 18 local authorities, the implementation level of the five COSO components and their relationship with transparency and budgetary efficiency indicators were evaluated. Results show that only 34% of Bolívar's GADs achieve a satisfactory level of internal control efficiency, with critical weaknesses identified in risk assessment (23.4% average compliance), monitoring (27.1%), and control activities (31.2%). A significant positive correlation exists (r=0.81, p<0.001) between the internal control efficiency index and transparency compliance according to the Organic Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information. GADs with deficient control systems record an average of 9.7 findings per external audit versus 2.1 in those with robust controls, while executing only 63% of their budget compared to 89% for efficient GADs. Main barriers identified include insufficient human resource professionalization, cultural resistance to organizational change, technological limitations, and weak commitment from elected authorities. The study concludes that strengthening internal control is imperative to ensure transparency and efficiency in Bolívar's local public management, requiring comprehensive interventions in technical training, institutionalization of control culture, and specific budgetary allocation for these areas.
The adoption of emerging technologies in the finance industry, such as blockchain, promises to provide new perspectives on data security and business processes. This advanced innovation paves the way for unprecedented financial and organizational optimization, transforming not only processes and structures, but also fundamental paradigms of trust and knowledge. The financial industry faces numerous challenges in combating fraud and embezzlement, due to the complexity and scale of its operations. Therefore, the infrastructure provided by the blockchain system helps reduce costs related to intermediaries, enhances security, and improves trust between stakeholders, thanks to the principle of decentralization and the immutability of its ledger. Furthermore, this technological revolution offers financial actors the ability to create new services and solutions in order to meet the needs of several business activities, especially those with complex supply chains. A perfect use of it, will certainly develop the standards of this industry and stimulate innovative economic growth. Although the blockchain offers substantial opportunities for the financial sector, its potential can only be fully achieved with adequate regulatory support, as a way to steer the system toward a more digital and inclusive economy. After a presentation of blockchain technology and its mode of operation, we will be focusing on its potential in finance and how it might provide creative accounting and financial management solutions.
[ES]En la actualidad estamos viviendo una época de cambios sustanciales derivados de la disrupción creada por las nuevas tecnologías. Muestra de esta situación la encontramos en la importancia creciente, especialmente en términos económicos, de lo que se ha denominado como “activos digitales”. Este artículo pretende ofrecer una visión realista de la situación actual desde el punto de vista tanto contable como de calificación jurídica de estos activos, con una especial referencia a los tokens no fungibles (NFTs), con la pretensión de incentivar el necesario debate sobre la pertinencia de que estas nuevas realidades se contemplen desde un enfoque pluridisciplinar.[EN]We are currently living in an era of substantial changes derived from the disruption created by new technologies. An example of this situation can be found in the growing importance, especially in economic terms, of the knows as “digital assets”. This article aims to offer a realistic view of the current situation from the point of view of both accounting and the legal classification of these assets, with special reference to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with the purpose of encouraging the necessary debate on the relevance of considering these new realities from a multidisciplinary approach.
Elizabeth Juliana Núñez Bartolomé, Wendy Diana Carranza Quimí, Fresia Susana Chang Rizo, Oscar Fabián Moncayo Carreño
This research study focuses on the analysis of internal control in relation to administrative, accounting and financial management, with the purpose of identifying critical points and deficiencies present. The data collected during the investigation carried out in the financial department and in the administrative area, where the delivery of specifications for coordination with the National Public Procurement System (SERCOP) is planned, reveal the existence of shortcomings in control practices. Control risks were mainly observed as risk factors, and the improper application of internal control procedures affects the internal processes of the finance department. It is essential for the Decentralized Autonomous Government of Palenque to identify development mechanisms to address existing problems and provide quality and timely works and services projects, thus guaranteeing the social and economic development of the population. In this research, the focus is to analyze and determine a solution scheme to mitigate deficiencies in accounting, administrative, and financial management. This involves designing control documents and determining tools that facilitate the improvement of internal control in the Decentralized Autonomous Government of the Palenque Canton.
Se analiza en este trabajo la consideración de los valores representados mediante sistemas basados en tecnología de registro descentralizado como una nueva forma de expresión de los derechos que integra, junto con los valores representados mediante título y mediante anotaciones en cuenta, el concepto de los derechos-valor. This paper analyzes the crypto-securities, that is, securities on distributed ledgers or the issuance of traditional securities in tokenised form, as a new way of representation of rights that integrates, together with securities represented by title and book entries, the concept of rights-value.
La contabilidad como sistema de información debe considerar aquellas innovaciones tecnológicas y financieras que impactan en el mundo empresarial. La aparición, consolidación y diversidad de las criptomonedas hace necesario que la disciplina contable tome nota rápida del fenómeno y dé respuestas sobre su incorporación al patrimonio, su medición y exposición. Los riesgos y la volatilidad son características particulares de este tema.
After a century of political centralization in Colombia, the first public election of city mayors in 19861 began a decentralization trend, which was later reinforced by a constitutional reform in 1991. Subnational governments (departments and municipalities) were made responsible for the planning and management of social and economic development in their jurisdictions. Administrative and political reforms were accompanied by fiscal decentralization, including the transfer of central government revenues. Since 1991 the growth of fiscal transfers has accelerated. Departments and municipalities are now responsible for public health, education, water supply, and sanitation expenditures through earmarked transfers. Out of the total amount of central government expenditures (21.8 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in 2008) almost one-quarter represent regional transfers (5 percent of GDP), which finance half of all regional expenditures (10.2 percent of GDP). The purpose of this paper is to describe the budget process reform implemented in Medellin, and to analyze its actual performance and evaluate its success. The reform is changing the way public resources are allocated and executed, while gradually institutionalizing supply and demand-side practices beyond the government's political cycles. This paper describes and analyzes how the Results-oriented budgeting (RoB) was designed and implemented, and the achievements of the system to date, in terms of resource allocation and the policy-making process.