Audit Regulator Sidesteps Support for New Tech Tools, Big Data

Auditors are using new technology that could provide better evidence and even sniff out possible management bias in estimates, but the U.S. audit regulator stopped short of endorsing those tools.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said Thursday in its latest report on audit technology that the board’s standards don’t prevent firms from using new techniques. The rules, however, don’t encourage their use or address new risks they may introduce.

• One exception is the board’s audit evidence rule, which the PCAOB has targeted for possible changes to better address the types of information firms are considering as part of ...