Big Four Auditor PWC Launches a Tool For Auditing Crypto Activities

PricewaterhouseCoopers has announced the launch of a new tool for auditing cryptocurrency transaction data. The tool is a part of its Halo data auditing suite. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the second largest professional services firm in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, has announced the launch of a new tool for auditing cryptocurrency transaction data. The tool is a part of its Halo data auditing suite.

According to the company, the new Halo solution provides independent, substantive evidence of the ‘private key and public address pairing’ which is needed to establish ownership of cryptocurrency. Moreover, it securely interrogates the blockchain to independently and reliably gather corroborating information about blockchain transactions and balances. The announcement reads:

“Our ability to audit an entity engaged in cryptocurrency activities is very much influenced by our client’s control environment, and at this stage, by the breadth of tokens supported by our Halo software. These considerations will be key when determining whether we are comfortable to accept an audit engagement.”

Currently, the product is available for those clients who use Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Bitcoin Diamond (BCD), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), OAX and XRP token. Companies that don’t have a direct relationship with PwC can also use the tool.

The aim of the tool is to help companies to seize the opportunities and address the challenges they face, as well as help them implement the processes and controls they will need to obtain assurance reports from their auditors.

James Chalmers, PwC’s global assurance leader, commented:

“It is important as companies continue to digitize we, as auditors, keep up with technology changes in the market, continue to develop audit tools that meet the needs of emerging technologies and serve the changing and developing demands of our stakeholders.”

About PwC

PricewaterhouseCoopers is a multinational professional services network with headquarters in London. Set up in 1998 by a merger between Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse, PwC has offices in 158 countries, 721 locations, and employs 250,930 people. PwC has been working as an auditor with Tezos Foundation and the Hong Kong stablecoin project Loorping Foundation.

The new Halo tool is not the first time PwC deals with blockchain. In March of this year, PwC was piloting a new blockchain-based platform for confirming the trustworthiness of employee credentials. The initiative was done in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). In order to conduct the trial, PwC employees, who have successfully completed their chartered accountancy course in the last two years, were given digital certificates uploaded on the blockchain.