AuditPro-integrating knowledge-based technology with diagramming tools for auditors

The authors describe the design of AuditPro, an integrated collection of tools for supporting auditors performing internal control evaluation. Among the tools are a graphical document-flowchart editor, a graphical organization chart editor, an `outliner-type´ internal control questionnaire, and an expert system. The unique features of this system are that the knowledge-based component of the system is embedded within the internal control questionnaire; that the system is able to make inferences about the internal control system through direct analysis of the diagrams drawn using the graphical editors; and that the knowledge-representation is designed specifically to support internal control evaluation. AuditPro provides a natural framework for dialogue between domain experts and knowledge engineers. The system builds internal models of the internal control systems under evaluation through the diagraming tools so that some audit-concerns captured in knowledge bases can be answered by directly querying the internal models instead of the user. The `outliner´ user-interface gives users the initiative to browse and answer in whatever order is convenient at the time of use