Auditing Bitcoin: A Framework for Digital Asset Assurance - Hardcover

Olivier, Wiehann; Buys, Pieter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9819557747 ISBN 13: 9789819557745

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2026

Synopsis

This book explores how blockchain-based digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, are disrupting traditional financial and audit environments by introducing new levels of complexity and transparency. It presents the Assertion-Based Audit Framework (BTC_AF), a structured, International Standards on Auditing-aligned methodology that enables auditors to obtain reliable and re-performable evidence directly from the Bitcoin blockchain. By leveraging blockchain’s core features—cryptographic integrity, immutability, and decentralization—the framework enhances audit quality, consistency, and stakeholder confidence. Developed through a design science approach and validated in real-world scenarios, BTC_AF addresses critical assurance challenges such as asset existence, rights, valuation, and custody. This pioneering work bridges the gap between blockchain technology and professional auditing, laying the groundwork for auditing other emerging digital asset classes.

About this title

About the Author

Wiehann Olivier, Assurance and Advisory Partner at Forvis Mazars South Africa, is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a PhD from the North-West University. As head of FinTech and Digital Assets locally and globally, he is widely recognised for his expertise and thought leadership, featured across leading publications, interviews, podcasts, and webinars.

Pieter Buys, Professor and Research Director of Applied Research in Management Cybernetics at North-West University, holds qualifications in management accounting and industrial engineering. His research focuses on applied management, managerial accounting, and business systems, supported by prior senior roles in manufacturing, engineering, and ICT sectors in Canada and South Africa.

From the Back Cover

This book explores how blockchain-based digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, are disrupting traditional financial and audit environments by introducing new levels of complexity and transparency. It presents the Assertion-Based Audit Framework (BTC_AF), a structured, International Standards on Auditing-aligned methodology that enables auditors to obtain reliable and re-performable evidence directly from the Bitcoin blockchain. By leveraging blockchain’s core features—cryptographic integrity, immutability, and decentralization—the framework enhances audit quality, consistency, and stakeholder confidence. Developed through a design science approach and validated in real-world scenarios, BTC_AF addresses critical assurance challenges such as asset existence, rights, valuation, and custody. This pioneering work bridges the gap between blockchain technology and professional auditing, laying the groundwork for auditing other emerging digital asset classes.

Wiehann Olivier, Assurance and Advisory Partner at Forvis Mazars South Africa, is a Chartered Accountant (SA) and holds a PhD from the North-West University. As head of FinTech and Digital Assets locally and globally, he is widely recognised for his expertise and thought leadership, featured across leading publications, interviews, podcasts, and webinars.

Pieter Buys, Professor and Research Director of Applied Research in Management Cybernetics at North-West University, holds qualifications in management accounting and industrial engineering. His research focuses on applied management, managerial accounting, and business systems, supported by prior senior roles in manufacturing, engineering, and ICT sectors in Canada and South Africa.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9819557747
• ISBN 13: 9789819557745
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 163