{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T22:49:20Z","timestamp":1783118960551,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]],"date-time":"2025-04-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1745539200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Blockchain"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This investigation evaluates blockchain\u2019s dichotomous effects on auditing through systematic literature synthesis and comparative case studies of Big Four accounting firms. Empirical evidence demonstrates that distributed ledger technology enhances audit efficacy through automated transaction authentication (exemplified by PwC\u2019s 90% temporal reduction in reconciliation protocols) and machine learning-powered anomaly detection algorithms, enabling comprehensive audit sampling and continuous monitoring capabilities. Persistent technical risks remain, notably 51% consensus vulnerabilities, self-executing contract exposures, and throughput constraints in decentralized architectures, which collectively compromise system integrity. Furthermore, regulatory lacunae in cross-jurisdictional compliance frameworks and practitioners' competency deficits in cryptographic validation techniques substantially impede technological assimilation. The analysis substantiates three critical imperatives: (1) harmonized regulatory frameworks with Turing-complete compliance protocols, (2) cross-disciplinary human capital development initiatives, and (3) applied research on heterogeneous system interoperability. Strategic mitigation of these implementation barriers could transition auditing toward cryptographic trust ecosystems, contingent upon synergistic collaboration between regulatory bodies establishing adaptive governance models, corporate entities developing hybrid audit architectures, and academic institutions advancing validation methodologies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fbloc.2025.1549729","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]],"date-time":"2025-04-25T05:26:32Z","timestamp":1745558792000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Auditing in the blockchain: a literature review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Yunfan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zifei","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiaming","family":"Meng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.2308\/jeta-52220","article-title":"Blockchain and the future of audit","volume":"15","author":"Alarcon","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Emerg. Technol. Account."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100465","DOI":"10.1016\/j.accinf.2020.100465","article-title":"\u201cThe first mile problem\u201d: deriving an endogenous demand for auditing in blockchain-based business processes","volume":"38","author":"Alles","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Account. Inf. Syst."},{"key":"B3","article-title":"Auditing and assurance services: an integrated approach","author":"Arens","year":"2012"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-54455-6_8","article-title":"A survey of attacks on Ethereum smart contracts (SoK)","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 6th international conference on principles of security and trust","author":"Atzei","year":"2017"},{"key":"B6","article-title":"Ethereum white paper: a next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform","author":"Buterin","year":"2013"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2292","DOI":"10.1109\/access.2016.2566339","article-title":"Blockchains and smart contracts for the internet of things","volume":"4","author":"Christidis","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.2308\/jeta-51910","article-title":"Can blockchains serve an accounting purpose?","volume":"14","author":"Coyne","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Emerg. Technol. Account."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.2308\/isys-51804","article-title":"Toward blockchain-based accounting and assurance","volume":"31","author":"Dai","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Inf. Syst."},{"key":"B10","first-page":"436","volume-title":"Majority is not enough: Bitcoin mining is vulnerable in international conference on financial cryptography and data security","author":"Eyal","year":"2014"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1145\/2976749.2978341","article-title":"On the security and performance of proof of work blockchains","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 2016 ACM SIGSAC conference on computer and communications security","author":"Gervais","year":"2016"},{"key":"B13","first-page":"297","article-title":"The unexpected vulnerability of decentralized consensus","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 2018 ACM SIGSAC conference on computer and communications security","author":"Gramoli","year":"2018"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1111\/auar.12280","article-title":"Thinking outside the block: projected phases of blockchain integration in the accounting industry","volume":"29","author":"Karajovic","year":"2019","journal-title":"Aust. Account. Review"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.2308\/jeta-51911","article-title":"Blockchain: emergent industry adoption and implications for accounting","volume":"14","author":"Kokina","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Emerg. Technol. Account."},{"key":"B16","unstructured":"Digital ledger services at KPMG: seize the potential of blockchain today\n          \n          \n          2017"},{"key":"B17","first-page":"45","article-title":"The current situation and suggestions for improvement of blockchain-related regulations in China","volume":"40","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Finance and Economics Research"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7669","DOI":"10.3390\/s21227669","article-title":"RootLogChain: registering log-events in a blockchain for audit issues from the creation of the root","volume":"21","author":"L\u00f3pez - Pimentel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"B19","first-page":"1","article-title":"The impact of blockchain technology on the accounting profession: a review and research agenda","volume":"47","author":"Low","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Accounting Literature"},{"key":"B20","article-title":"Auditing and assurance services: a systematic approach","author":"Messier","year":"2017"},{"key":"B21","article-title":"Bitcoin: a peer - to - peer electronic cash system","author":"Nakamoto","year":"2008"},{"key":"B22","first-page":"239","volume-title":"Understanding modern banking ledgers through blockchain technologies: future of transaction processing and smart contracts on the internet of money","author":"Peters","year":"2016"},{"key":"B23","unstructured":"Blockchain \u2013 an opportunity for energy producers and consumers?\n          \n          \n          2017"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.2308\/jeta-52432","article-title":"Reengineering the audit with blockchain and smart contracts","volume":"16","author":"Rozario","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting"},{"key":"B25","article-title":"Identity and access management in blockchain: challenges and opportunities","author":"Sabett","year":"2020"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1111\/auar.12286","article-title":"Accounting and auditing at the time of blockchain technology: a research agenda","volume":"29","author":"Schmitz","year":"2019","journal-title":"Australian Accounting Review"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.2308\/jeta-52686","article-title":"Blockchain and accounting governance: emerging issues and considerations for accounting and assurance professionals","volume":"17","author":"Smith","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting"},{"key":"B29","first-page":"15","article-title":"Research on the regulatory framework of blockchain technology in China","volume":"25","author":"Sun","year":"2022","journal-title":"Journal of Internet Law"},{"key":"B30","article-title":"Blockchain: blueprint for a new economy","author":"Swan","year":"2015"},{"key":"B31","article-title":"Blockchain revolution: how the technology behind Bitcoin is changing money","author":"Tapscott","year":"2016","journal-title":"Business, and the World"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103444","DOI":"10.1016\/j.im.2021.103444","article-title":"A framework of blockchain technology adoption: an investigation of challenges and expected value","volume":"58","author":"Toufaily","year":"2021","journal-title":"Information and Management"},{"key":"B33","first-page":"201","article-title":"A survey of identity management in blockchain-based internet of things","volume":"22","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Internet Technology"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-802117-0.00002-3","article-title":"Is Bitcoin a real currency? An economic appraisal","volume-title":"Handbook of digital currency: Bitcoin, innovation, financial instruments, and big data","author":"Yermack","year":"2015"},{"key":"B35","first-page":"179","article-title":"Where is current research on blockchain technology? a systematic review","volume":"9","author":"Yli - Huumo","year":"2016","journal-title":"Peer - to - Peer Networking and Applications"},{"key":"B36","first-page":"245","article-title":"Research on the transformation and upgrading path of the accounting profession in the blockchain era","volume":"22","author":"Zhao","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Applied Accounting Research"},{"key":"B37","first-page":"507","article-title":"An overview of blockchain technology: architecture, consensus, and future trends","volume":"97","author":"Zheng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Future Generation Computer Systems"},{"key":"B38","first-page":"399","article-title":"Enigma: decentralized computation platform with guaranteed privacy","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 2015 ACM SIGSAC conference on computer and communications security","author":"Zyskind","year":"2015"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Blockchain"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fbloc.2025.1549729\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]],"date-time":"2025-04-25T05:26:37Z","timestamp":1745558797000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fbloc.2025.1549729\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]]},"references-count":35,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fbloc.2025.1549729"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fbloc.2025.1549729","relation":{},"ISSN":["2624-7852"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2624-7852","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,25]]},"article-number":"1549729"}}