A Mapping Analysis of Blockchain Applications Within the Field of Auditing

Blockchain technology has a wide scope of applicability for accounting and auditing purposes, separate from Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. However, although blockchain technology is identified as a popular topic within the field, there currently exists a lack of consensus on how it will be realistically applied. This paper aims to map the presently existing international auditing literature and offer clarity to an otherwise heterogeneous field. The mapping analysis will aid in examining the underlying theme employed within studies. Through the use of the Bibliometrix R-Package Biblioshiny, a sample of 112 studies were downloaded from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed. This study's results show that the topic has gained increased international popularity and separated into distinct research streams; Encrypted Private and Secure Information Sharing, Distributed Ledger, Smart Contracts, Continuous Audit, Audit Trail and Tokenization. However, there still exists a research gap that must be addressed to hasten the adoption of blockchain technology in auditing.