Auditor of the Future

Springtime Heralds both a period of natural revival and the end of the audit season for many companies and their auditors. The audit process had remained essentially unchanged over the past 3 decades, ever since the adoption of computer-assisted audit tools.

The constant technological progress and the overflow of Information have created a new landscape for financial reporting, making this abundance of information more accessible and easy to use. Moreover, the advancement in different technological fields such as AI, machine learning, cognitive computing, OCR and many more has  tremendous potential to significantly Influence and enhance the audit process and the auditor’s job, thus continuously improving audit quality and lowering inherent risks.

furthermore, there is a significant need for deeper and more relevant insights regarding the organization’s financial condition and performance that may be readily derived from new audit processes. 

However, progress always comes with a cost - challenges and obstacles such as data security, transparency and even auditor independence. These, among others, will require intense , multi-party engagement between companies, auditors and regulators regarding Data, the way it is stored and protected the quality of subsequent audit processes.

When we come to think of it, the classic accountant simply does not possess the required skills for this new world. Therefore, the process described above must be accompanied by new professional training in areas outside the auditors’ historic skill set. Audit practitioners will need to adopt a completely new set of skills and work methodologies such as cyber forensics, risk management, analytics, and IT.

In Deloitte, we strive to make that change - not just adapt ourselves, but initiate and lead progress in our profession. Our first step was to jointly create and accounting and technology BA with IDC's Business School. Learn more about our approach to Audit Innovation here.