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This article defines the benefits and risks of integrating artificial intelligence into the core and IT audit professions.
The purpose of this article is to clearly define the benefits and risks occurring from the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the core and IT audit professions. A variety of firms and companies that have begun to leverage the power and weigh the risks of AI in their daily operations are highlighted.
Introduction
As technology changes the working landscape of the business world, AI specifically has affected and will continue to impact the workloads and deliverables for core assurance and IT auditing. Although this technology isn't quite considered mainstream yet, its potential to increase efficiencies and add value to businesses is immense.
AI has driven the streamlined automation of monotonous tasks and added value to clients through reallocation of budgeted time. This additional time has given professionals the chance to develop more personalized and cutting-edge business insights. In addition to describing the benefits of utilizing AI, this article examines the added risks and controls to be implemented. Controls and authorization procedures are needed to ensure that reliable data are gathered and heightened professional skepticism is exercised by auditors to assess the quality, usefulness, and applicability of data outputs.
Like other groundbreaking technologies^! needs to be tailored, integrated, tested, and monitored over time to confirm that its benefits outweigh the costs of resources devoted to its use. A firm must be skeptical of the perceived benefits of AI to ensure that it is efficiently conducting business while maintaining a competitive advantage in the market.
Overall, AI's capabilities can be only as productive and valuable as the structures that put them in place. Therefore, the professionals who wield the power to effect change within their organization must thoroughly understand and implement what is best for their firm in relation to new AI technology.
AI: A brief history
Looking at what technology has done for our society in just a few decades, it is easy to see that an emphasis has been placed on efficiencies and cost savings. PwC has cataloged"the rise of robotics and AI"starting in 1921 to the present day.1 AI was born in 1948 when William Grey Walter created two small robots, "Elmer" and "Elsie,"...