Increasing use of sophisticated EDP systems has produced significant changes in the accounting environment. Some of these changes are the following:

a. documents that are used to enter information into the computer may exist for only a short time or only in computer-readable form. In some computer systems, input documents may not exist at all, because information is entered directly into the system. b. Computer processing uniformly subjects like transactions to the same processing instructions. c. Many internal control procedures, once performed by separate individuals in manual systems, may be combined in systems that use computer processing. d. The potential for individuals to gain unauthorized access to data or assets may be greater in computerized accounting systems than in manual systems.

Required:

For each of the changes, discuss the impact on the internal control system and the independent audit.