The auditor increasingly relies on electronic sources of information to keep up-to-date on industry developments, new trends in the economy, regulatory requirements, and other coverage of the client in the financial press.

Required:

Select a publicly owned company that is of interest to you. Log on to the World Wide Web to gather information about the company, the industry, and the risks associated with the company. In your online search, include 

•  The company’s annual report, either on its home page or as filed with the SEC using EDGAR or SEC.gov (look at the management discussion and analysis section as well as other information).

• A company chat line, such as Yahoo: Finance 

• Another source of industry data such as Yahoo Finance or Hoovers On-Line 

• A stockbroker analysis or investment analyst

a. Develop an industry analysis and a business risk analysis for the company (ask your instructor about length of paper).

b. Consider the online search sources and answer the following questions for each source:

1. Usefulness of the site in providing relevant background information about the company, including its strategies and competitors.

2. Ease of use in obtaining the information.

3. Reliability of information. 

Contrast the information received from

(a) the chat line,

(b) the stockbroker/investment analyst,

(c) management’s discussion and analysis section of the annual report, and

(d) the other financial sources of industry data.

4. Comprehensiveness of information obtained.

5. Usefulness of the data in identifying risks

c. Describe “intelligent agents,” and explain how they could be used to improve your search process as well as the presentation of information for your analysis.