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Audit Partner Survey: Significant Number of Public Companies Adopting AI

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Almost one third (32 percent) of audit partners say that companies in their primary industry sector are using or planning to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in financial reporting, the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ)’s Fall 2023 Audit Partner Pulse Survey found.

The survey of 748 audit partners at eight of the largest public accounting firms in the United States found that interest in AI has been growing, but auditors are seeing public companies facing challenges in deploying generative AI technology in financial reporting. 

Companies continue to consider how to use the technology, the survey found, with 62 percent of audit partners reporting that companies in their primary industry sector are using or planning to use generative AI in business operations. Twenty-eight percent said that companies in their primary industry sector are using or planning to use generative AI enterprise-wide.

The use of generative AI technology, such as such as ChatGPT and Bard, still raises concerns, however. The concerns most widely cited were data quality (47 percent), lack of mature technology (45 percent), data security risks (42 percent) and gaps in talent to implement and manage AI (40 percent).

Cybersecurity was also seen by audit partners as a large economic risk facing companies over the next 12 months. Fifty-two percent of respondents cited that risk in this year’s survey, a jump of 20 percentage points from last year. The respondents ranked cybersecurity as the third largest economist risk, behind only inflation (66 percent) and regulation (55 percent).