Artificial intelligence (AI) is influencing every aspect of our lives, directly or indirectly. AI and “augmented intelligence” can help humans perform better at their tasks and be more efficient. AI-based solutions are becoming more common and affordable, with ChatGPT serving as a prominent recent example that we will explore in greater detail below. Opportunities exist across different professions to apply AI, and tech-savvy leaders can create compelling use cases for AI so that mundane tasks can be offloaded to AI solutions, and human intelligence can focus more on critical and creative thinking.
In recent years, the auditing profession has been leveraging innovative technologies and approaches from the digital world. Agile methodology that was primarily applied in software development practices are now being applied to an agile auditing approach. Technology capabilities, such as big data, are used to develop continuous auditing practices within organizations. Another AI application is Natural Language Processing (NLP)-based AI solutions, such as Alexa, Siri, Google Home, etc. These solutions can interpret natural human languages and respond accordingly. In this blog post, we will be exploring the recent talk of the town, ChatGPT, and how a solution such as that can be leveraged in auditing.
Experience ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a chatbot, developed by OpenAI. GPT stands for Generative Pre-training Transformer, a language model that can generate human link text in a conversational context. You can experience ChatGPT by:
- Accessing the URL for ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/)
- Sign up for OpenAI account
- Once you are in the ChatGPT window, type in your query or keywords. You can see how the chatbot responds to your question.
Using ChatGPT for Basic Audit Program Development
Audit program development is an inevitable part of audit engagement. What if AI tools can be leveraged to develop a base audit program? This can save time for auditors, and auditors may need to only fine-tune the audit program if needed to fit their specific scope and objective. Here is an example of using ChatGPT to generate a basic IT general control audit program:
Potential Benefits of Leveraging AI in Audit
AI and other emerging technologies can save valuable time and resources by offloading repetitive and mundane tasks from auditors. This can help auditors focus more on areas where creativity and critical thinking are important.
AI solutions not only assists experienced auditors. They can also be leveraged by junior auditors, both to save time and enhance knowledge faster and to further skillsets for existing and emerging practices and technologies. Additionally, auditors can leverage AI solutions in enhancing auditing skills and knowledge on emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, blockchain, various connected devices, etc. AI can also assist the audit function in addressing skills gaps, to some extent, through the dissemination of knowledge on specific subject matters.
Example of AI-Generated Audit Program for Emerging Technologies
Provided below is the audit program provided by ChatGPT for auditing autonomous vehicle CAN (Controller Area Network )
AI Safeguards to Be Considered by Auditors
AI solutions are as good as the training of the models and datasets used. Auditors need to be mindful of a few cautionary points while using AI solutions, such as:
- Public AI uses the data provided by users for further learnings. So, auditors should be cautious not to provide sensitive corporate or client information.
- If AI solutions are implemented in-house, auditing functions need to ensure that the systems are trained well using adequate datasets and that the training is continuous.
- The audit programs provided by AI-enabled solutions should be reviewed and adjusted according to scope and objectives of the engagement.
- AI models must be re-trained with datasets so that the outputs can be further optimized.
Provided these safeguards are accounted for, increasingly there will be use cases leveraging AI that can support internal audit functions by improving efficiency, resource optimization, knowledge and skill development. ChatGPT is a prime example that will be worth monitoring as the new year unfolds.
Editor’s note: For more AI resources, learn about ISACA’s Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals Certificate.