The traditional audit paradigm is outdated in the real time economy. Innovation of the traditional audit
process is necessary to support real time assurance. Practitioners and academics are exploring
continuous auditing as a potential successor to the traditional audit paradigm. Using technology and
automation, continuous auditing methodology enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit
process to support real time assurance. This paper defines how continuous auditing methodology
introduces innovation to practice in seven dimensions and propose a four stage paradigm to advance
future research. In addition, we formulate a set of methodological propositions concerning the future of
assurance for practitioners and academic researchers.