Artificial Intelligence in the Audit Process – Seth Gilson, CPA, Partner & Seth Brittenham, CPA, Auditor

Gardiner + Co. has spent the last few years researching artificial intelligence (AI) and now is the time for us to forge ahead with this technology. The firm will employ AI in some engagements in 2022 and will expand our use over the next few years to engagements that can benefit from it.

The concept of AI can be traced to science fiction writings as far back as the 1800’s. In the 1950’s, scientific efforts begin to materialize, with most crediting Alan Turing’s paper titled Computing Machinery and Intelligence as the first significant publication on the subject. Advancements in AI continued to ebb and flow over the following decades.

The 21st century brought a new way of living and interacting in the world. AI affects our daily lives through the use of facial recognition for accessing cell phones, speech recognition to play our favorite songs, and autonomous vehicles.

In agriculture, AI is helping farmers improve yields, manage inputs, and harvest crops. The use of drones and satellites provide farmers with real time insight to assess crop health and data to analyze soil quality. Autonomous equipment is also available to apply certain inputs and aide in harvesting of crops.

Initially, the utilization of AI will assist our audit process in risk assessment, development of base-line trends, enhanced sampling techniques, and assist in identifying anomalies in your company’s data. In-turn the audit process will become more efficient through targeted inquiries and testing. In the not so distant future, use of AI may provide for continuous auditing (e.g. monthly or quarterly)or perhaps in real-time.

The potential for AI in our personal and professional lives is endless. Only the costs to implement or our unwillingness to grow will limit its use. We are excited about the possibilities of AI as an audit tool, but more importantly the value we can bring to your company through its use.