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Digitalisation is hot. Data is everywhere, and everyone is producing it. It is a big thing in all corners of our society and both the corporate and the public world have discovered data as a key aspect of their success. From the data hungry Silicon Valley start-ups to your local supermarket, and from the European Commission to your local council, they all want to use your data. The upsides of the 'datafication' of our society are already numerous: doctors are using sophisticated algorithms that enable them to use more tailor made treatments, smart homes are helping people to control their energy use, and fraud and corruption may be rooted out with systems based on distributed ledger technology, also known as blockchain. Big data, AI, data analytics, cybersecurity and smart systems are on the lips of innovators around the globe. But also cause privacy and consumer watchdogs sleepless nights, as malicious individuals seek ways to misuse ever-growing data streams to create fake news, or steal your identity.
Obviously, people want to know about the benefits, but also the costs of digitalisation. In that respect academics, watchdogs and others have identified a need for regulation and secure technologies to 'tame' the data beast and safeguard privacy concerns. Those are areas where government - and public auditors - come in.
In addition, this ECA Journal explores the topic of big data and audit in contributions from academic, corporate and governmental external experts.