It has been a year of transformation in terms of sharpening our focus. We have achieved an all-time high in revenue with successful audit activities and tender processes and won several clients as a result. This has increased our market share among the top 100 companies in Denmark. Building up our ESG Sustainability Assurance and CSRD areas to help our clients prepare for increasing compliance requirements has also been a key focus this year. Finally, the proliferation of generative AI has affected the Audit business. These results are an outcome of a strategic shift towards serving bigger clients, integrating ESG and continuing to be technology led.
The audit industry is working actively on rebranding its Image. In Deloitte, our ambition is to pioneer this challenge through a strong focus on promoting the profession to the next generation of auditors. One initiative was a social media campaign for Denmark’s Next Auditor developed together with influencers Thomas Skov and Emil Thorup. The campaign has helped us connect with and attract young talent and was awarded a Danish Digital Award in June 2024.
Reducing complexity to serve clients better
We have reduced the number of Audit & Assurance clients from 11,500 to 5,000 to ensure our clients get the best of Deloitte. This strategic client focus has led to reduced complexity in our business and focusing on working with mid-market and large clients. As part of streamlining our business to become ‘more for less’, we also divested our office in Esbjerg, our healthcare outsourcing business, and our Pension Management business. While it is always hard to say goodbye to great colleagues, it is sometimes necessary to ensure that we have a business that is future fit.
Our ambition is to continue growing with clients across industries and sectors, where we can make the biggest impact by leveraging the breadth and depth of our capabilities. Our focus goes beyond Audit & Assurance to work closely together with our other advisory businesses, so we can support our clients in their growth and transformation – whether it is with mergers and acquisitions, internationalisation, digitalisation or sustainability.
Increased compliance requirements and CSRD reporting
Compliance requirements are increasing due to the introduction of new regulations locally and globally. Companies are facing increasing requirements from regulators to ensure compliance with governance and legal standards. This trend is evident across all sectors and geographies and impacts companies of all sizes.
Ensuring compliance with an expanding array of laws and regulations demands careful consideration, strategic planning, and a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory landscape. This involves aligning requirements with the overall business strategy and operationalising compliance measures, including reporting, assurance, and governance.
The CSRD is one of the requirements causing challenges. With all the data you can measure and report on today, companies need to assess the most significant aspects relevant to their business. This trend towards integrated financial and CSRD performance underlines the fact that success today is measured both by financial metrics and non-financial achievements.
Given the increasing number of regulations, boards and audit committees must ensure effective oversight of these areas, and we work closely with them to do just that. With our legacy in audit, we help build trust in markets and societies, when we help our clients be compliant, not just today but also in the future.
Automation and AI in the Audit business
The advancements in AI are significantly reshaping the audit landscape. As AI continues to evolve, it has become an indispensable tool in the audit process, enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and the overall quality of our services. As a result, we are making substantial investments to harness the power of AI and transform our audit approach.
This year, we have entered the era of generative AI. Having rolled out our own generative AI tool (PairD) to practitioners, we have taken the first step to integrate generative AI capabilities into our audit processes. Furthermore, we are augmenting our auditors with generative AI by deeply ingraining these capabilities into our global audit tools and we are currently developing and testing tools that will support our team in audit documentation, quality reviews, and compliance work. In this era of digital transformation, we remain committed to leveraging advanced technologies like generative AI to drive innovation in audit. By doing so, we are not only staying ahead of the curve but also setting new standards in audit quality and assurance.
