The Business Process Modeling and its Potential Effects at the Level of the Financial Audit Mission

Author:Lecturer Dragoş MANGIUC, PhD

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Keywords:business modeling, business process, unified modeling language, business entity, financial audit mission

Abstract:
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) became a de facto standard in the field of information systems analysis and design during the last decade, and its scope and applications constantly increased. Among this language’s auxiliary applications (called extensions), the business process modeling extension is particularly important, due to the large area of applicability as well as the interdisciplinary aspects of the implementation areas. The present paper is an attempt to familiarize financial audit professionals with the field of business modeling, including a proposal and an analysis of an original way of using business modeling for the benefit of the financial audit mission: building business models for the business processes which are to be audited, in order to accustom the audit team with the audit object (the entity), as prescribed by the International Standard on Auditing 315 – Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement. As seen by the author, this approach has important benefits for the financial auditor, as it requires no high level of computer knowledge; it does affect neither the auditor’s independence, nor his professional reason. This approach is only meant to transform the understanding of the audited entity and its environment in a coherent and well-structured process, and is, in our opinion, fully compatible with the financial audit mission’s objectives, the financial auditor’s interests, as well as the ISA 315’s requests.

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