Finance chiefs of many industries are starting to speak extremely optimistically about them The potential role of artificial intelligence in auditing and honestly, it made me wonder.
An article in the Journal of Accountancy points to a new survey that shows that most CFOs are willing to pay higher salaries to work with audit firms that integrate cutting-edge technologies, especially artificial intelligence.
“It's rare in the context of paying extra money that someone is actually excited about incurring the extra expense, so I think that says a lot about where the auditing world is heading.”
When reading the conclusions contained in the report on the website journalofaccountancy.org, you can feel it. com, which details how strong this support has grown.
What's interesting is how organic and natural conversations around AI adoption are currently taking place.
Until recently, finance departments viewed AI as some sort of mysterious device lurking in the corner.
Now the question is: will it speed up audits? Will it capture things that humans can't? What will it take for us to stop sweeping the mountain of perpetual crisis data under the rug?
One story about how AI can process unstructured financial data is already in development and shows that companies are once again pushing boundaries.
But of course, the sun doesn't shine only there. The same study shows that leaders worry about cybersecurity and data privacy more than 80% of the time.
And I don't blame them. It's almost like giving your house keys to a stranger because he claims to know about home security.
Because what could go wrong with that? At the same time, the dynamics do not weaken.
Companies are feverishly adopting technology – some carefully, others so eagerly that you wonder if they actually read the manual.
A more recent report on AI trends in finance highlights how rapidly expectations are changing in the wider world of financial services.
Personally, I'm torn. On the one hand, AI can really help auditors dig deeper and faster – maybe even spot fraud or inconsistencies long before a human does.
On the other hand, I don't feel comfortable with the “black box” nature of some AI systems.
And who will you blame if something goes wrong – the auditor, the programmer or the algorithm?
There is already evidence that AI tools can be abused, such as the fake financial content that recently circulated in India, causing confusion among investors.
Also today, talking to auditors is a completely different experience. Many people say they are learning as they go, figuring out how AI fits into their workflow without becoming overly reliant on it.
Some even joke that AI will one day be able to do the “boring parts” of the job, but they still don't allow it to approach professional judgment. And maybe that's the point: AI as a supercharged assistant, not a decision maker.
Ultimately, this moment feels like a crossroads. Companies open to the use of AI seem well positioned to acquire more customers because customers are not afraid to demand efficiency and future-proof methods. However, charging without a rail can also backfire.
If there is one important conclusion to draw from this, it is this: AI is already changing financial audits, whether we are perfectly prepared for them or not.
And in fact, the most interesting part of the whole story may be how companies find a way to balance innovation with old-fashioned trust.
