| Abstract [eng] |
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that aims to mimic human cognitive skills and judgment. This technology is evolving at an extraordinary pace and is rapidly transforming processes in business organizations. One of the most significant changes in organizations is that more and more of the decisions are made as a combined result of human capital and a sequence of algorithms. The Big4 audit firms are no exception as they are increasingly transferring functions to AI technology, arguing for faster processing, time savings, increased accuracy as well as improved customer service. Given that AI tools will become a daily tool for auditors, it is important to investigate how to properly integrate this technology and the work of the audit team in audit processes, considering the risks of the physical configuration of this technology. The subject of the analysis is the integration of AI tools and the audit team. The objective of the study is to investigate the integration of AI tools and the audit team in Big4 audit firms. The theoretical analysis has shown that the most widespread use of AI tools is in audit risk assessment, which aims to effectively guide the audit team toward high-risk areas. Based on the current state of the art of AI tools in auditing, these tools may be limited when it comes to complex decisions requiring professional skepticism. Therefore, at least for the time being, the use of AI tools will allow the audit team to spend more time investigating and assessing the identified risk areas instead of spending time on manual tasks, resulting in improved audit quality. However, the use of AI tools in audits holds not only a wide range of benefits but also unforeseen challenges such as explainability, bias, efficiency, and reliability. As the audit team faces these risks directly, it is important to assess how this new environment affects the skills and role of auditors and how to mitigate the risks posed by AI tools through the audit team. When applying AI tools in the audit process, auditors will be expected not to delegate their responsibilities to AI tools, but to embrace them as a complement to their professional judgment. For this reason, when integrating AI tools and the audit team in the audit process, it is important to ensure that the audit team can explain the rationale for its decisions and maintain an appropriate level of skepticism. Also, for the credibility of the AI tools, it is important that the audit team is involved in the decision-making process and, if the recommendation made by the AI tools deviates from the audit team's expectations, to decide whether to take the appropriate action. In addition, the involvement of the audit team in the processes of the AI tools will help to ensure that the tool is working as intended and to react if the system produces incorrect results. The case studies carried out for the Big4 companies showed that AI tools are used to carry out analytical procedures to validate the existence, accuracy, and grouping of economic transactions. In addition, AI tools are being implemented in audit application functions to assist audit teams in designing effective audit strategies, analyzing financial ratios, searching for general ledger correlations, and assessing the risk of economic transactions. Given the application of AI tools in audit, the tools are integrated into existing audit methodologies and do not drastically change the routine of the audit team. For the time being, the audit team is inseparable from the AI tools, as professional judgment and professional skepticism remain important in the interpretation of AI results. It is also important to underline that the AI tools are nowhere used to make decisions, but only to assist the audit team in performing tasks more efficiently. A major focus of the integration of the audit team and AI tools in the audit is on the functionality of the tools, which aim to present to the audit teams the capabilities of the tools, the inputs used, and the meaning of the results provided. An important factor in mitigating the risks of AI tools is the transparency of the tool systems used, which allows the audit team to trace the root cause of a result or recommendation. The results of this study are useful for Big4 audit firms assessing and managing the risks of using AI technology. It is also useful for the Lithuanian Chamber of Auditors, which could use the results of the study to review the requirements for auditor qualification examinations and to gain insights into areas of auditor education that need further attention. |
