ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates big data and knowledge management in the context of so-called cognitive systems, with a particular focus on IBM's Watson as a case to illustrate both an emerging form of knowledge management and how firms are analyzing big data to generate knowledge from data. This analysis includes a number of applications that have been developed to address a number of accounting and auditing problems. The chapter analyzes how Watson has been brought into business settings and used or proposed for use in accounting, auditing and finance. Big data has been described using five key V-words: volume, velocity, variety, veracity and value. Knowledge management literally refers to managing knowledge resources. Such resources can include a wide range of information and knowledge. Statistics and Artificial Intelligence have long been used for knowledge discovery. As a result, it is not surprising for commenters to note the link between big data, analytics and knowledge management.
