Emerging technologies such as AI, robotic process automation, and blockchain are revolutionizing the auditing industry by enhancing efficiency and the quality of financial reporting. These technologies enable auditors to perform advanced analytics, reduce errors, and improve insights into business operations, while still requiring the auditors' expertise for effective judgment. As audit firms increasingly adopt these tools, they are poised to deliver higher assurance and transformational value to clients.

1. Emerging Technologies as an Audit
Tool
Technology influences every aspect of the business landscape. Companies
have started to embrace emerging technologies to keep pace with the
competitive corporate world. Technologies such as artificial intelligence,
Cognitive Automation, Robotic process automation and Blockchain find its
application across all the sectors of business.
Auditing is one such division that has been harnessing the power of these
sophisticated technologies to deliver high-quality audits by increasing the
efficiency and the quality of financial reporting. Audit firms are continually
investing in the latest technologies to facilitate their work and add value to the
client, which is bringing about “a transformational era in auditing’.
According to reports by various research firms, 80% of audit teams make use
of data analytics and automation tools in some form. Because of this adoption,
the quality of audit findings have increased with a reduction in cost.
Robotic process and cognitive automation
Robotic process and cognitive automation are the most trending technologies
that have the potential to bring about significant changes to the business.
These can be used to analyze datasets that contain millions of transactions,
isolate the outliers for further examination and interpret the data to complete
tasks. The technology helps in reducing errors on data processing and bring
efficiency on processing and reporting.
Artificial intelligence
AI can be used to conduct analyses of structured and unstructured data. It
brings order, ensures more natural extraction of value from data, helps in

2. identifying misstatements and determining risk. Embedding AI into the audit
process eliminates any chances of errors and risk on reporting and colossal
value addition to the client.
Blockchain
Blockchain can be deemed as a game-changer for the auditing industry. The
technology serves as an open, distributed ledger to record transactions
between two parties efficiently, and this can be used as a source of
verification for transactions reported in any business.
Sophisticated technologies enable auditors to perform advanced analytics,
which in turn helps them to gain more in-depth insight into the functioning of
businesses. Auditors must stay abreast of these technological advancements
as they promise a higher level of assurance and exciting opportunities to
enhance the quality of audit.
The technologies are never a replacement for auditors; what they do is
empower and enable audit professionals to deliver high-quality audits, without
any errors. “As powerful as these tools are, or are expected to become, they
nonetheless are not substitutes for the auditor’s knowledge, judgment and
exercise of professional scepticism.” But to some extend it is leading to triple
win situation to the organizations.
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3. Emerging Technologies as an Audit
Tool
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