analysis of the company's billing information. Here key concepts such as metrics, analytics, and alarms pertaining to financial information were also introduced. Components Continuous auditing is made up of three main parts: continuous data assurance (CDA), continuous controls monitoring (CCM), and continuous risk monitoring and assessment (CRMA). Continuous data assurance Continuous data assurance verifies the integrity of data flowing through the information systems. Continuous data assurance uses software to extract data from IT systems for analysis at the transactional level to provide more detailed assurance. CDA systems provide the ability to design expectation models for analytical procedures at the business-process level, as opposed to the current practice of relying on ratio or trend analysis at higher levels of data aggregation. CDA software can continuously and automatically monitor transactions, comparing their generic characteristics with predetermined benchmarks, thereby identifying anomalous situations. When significant discrepancies occur, alarms are triggered and routed to appropriate stakeholders and auditors. Continuous controls monitoring Continuous controls monitoring consists of a set of procedures used for monitoring the functionality of internal controls. CCM relies on automatic procedures, presuming that both the controls themselves and the monitoring procedures are formal or able to be formalized. CCM can be used for monitoring access control and authorizations, system configurations, and business process settings. CDA and CCM are complementary processes. Neither process is self-sufficient or comprehensive. Even if no data faults are found it cannot be concluded that controls are fail-safe. Further, even if controls are being implemented, data integrity cannot be assumed. When combined, however, these monitoring approaches present a more complete reliance picture. Continuous risk monitoring and assessment Continuous risk monitoring and assessment is used to dynamically measure risk and provide input for audit planning. CRMA is a real-time integrated risk assessment approach, aggregating data across different functional tasks in organizations to assess risk exposures and provide reasonable assurance on the firms' risk assessments. Black box logging In addition to the aforementioned three components, the black box audit log file is also an important part of continuous auditing. This file can be viewed as an extension of the existing practice of documenting audit activities in manual or automated work papers. A black box log file is a read-only, third-party controlled record of the actions of auditors. The objective of black box logging is to protect a continuous auditing system against auditor and management manipulations. Continuous reporting Continuous reporting is the release