Is Blockchain Just a Buzz Word or Will It Change The Way of Auditing? An Empirical Study on Blockchain and the Audit Profession

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of blockchain technology (BT) on the audit profession, which is a topic that has previously received little attention. Moreover, we contribute to existing research by taking both an internal and external perspective, interviewing auditors and blockchain experts. We employ a qualitative methodology and perform a multiple-case study that includes 11 participants. The basis for analysis is our own theoretical framework that examines the impact on the three respective audit phases through four dimensions of blockchain characteristics. The main finding is that blockchain is not impacting the audit profession as of today and that a future implementation holds many challenges. This is due to the skepticism towards blockchain's use case in auditing, the immaturity of the technology, as well as the widely spread knowledge gap. If implemented, however, blockchain is most likely to impact the assessment phase, where the opportunities outweigh the challenges.