On the Frontlines: Innovating to Stay Relevant

We’re already seeing this shift inside audit. Tasks that once took days now take hours. Instead of manually drafting executive summaries, GenAI can assemble a first draft from existing workpapers and risk assessments, which auditors then refine. Quality assurance is moving from after-the-fact reviews to in-flight checks using auditable scripts and rules. Tools can propose risks and controls based on prior testing and improve consistency in issue writing. More teams are using data analytics to test full populations, revealing patterns and control weaknesses that sampling often misses.

The broader financial services industry is undergoing the same transformation. Banks are piloting “digital workers” and agentic AI to execute multistep tasks under human supervision — from document preparation and policy search to code remediation and payment-instruction validation. Increasingly, machines will initiate the work and people will supervise, interpret, and decide. For internal audit to stay relevant, we must do two things in parallel: build frameworks to assess the risks of these technologies and innovate alongside the business to keep pace with how work is now done.

So, what does the future of the audit function look like? No one has a crystal ball. Perhaps every auditor will have an assigned AI agent. Perhaps human auditors will design tests while AI agents execute continuously and uncover exceptions. Regardless of the exact configuration, one truth is clear: Companies will still rely on people — specifically, people who know how to use disruptive technologies to work more efficiently and effectively.

Here are a few tips for leading an audit department through this disruptive era:

1. Establish a strategy and roadmap to automate steps throughout the audit life cycle. Start with the outcomes you want to achieve (speed to insight, coverage, consistency), then identify the specific steps ripe for automation in each phase of the audit life cycle. Prioritize two or three high-value use cases each year. Set up a sandbox environment so that auditors can experiment safely. Treat change management as part of the roadmap: Communicate why, train how, and stage rollouts through pilot projects before scaling.
2. Build talent through recruiting and training. Design a training program that focuses on fluency in technology, data, and AI. Focus on showcasing the capabilities of disruptive technologies to reduce the level of resistance and fear. Formalize knowledge sharing with brown-bag get-togethers and a community of practice, and reward behaviors that spread capability (such as mentoring) in performance goals. The objective isn’t to turn everyone into a data scientist; it’s to ensure every auditor can partner with automation, challenge AI-enabled processes, and translate analytics into business-ready insights.

How should individual auditors stay competitive? Ironically, as automation rises, soft skills matter more. The ability to frame a risk in plain language, negotiate scope with empathy, and build trust across the three lines will differentiate great auditors from competent ones. Second, resilience becomes a daily skill. We talk a lot about enterprise resilience; personal resilience is the No. 1 predictor of success when roles and tools shift under your feet. Third, embrace a growth mindset. This may be a Darwinian moment in our profession: People who evolve by learning new skills and creating higher-value roles will thrive. Those who cling to old playbooks may get left behind.

Do all auditors need to be technologists? No. But every auditor should understand how IT, data, and AI shape process risk, what audit processes can be automated, and what they can do to help. Think of it like financial literacy for a non-accountant — not a CPA, but fluent.

Is GenAI hype or a game changer? The hype will fade. The game will keep changing. Let’s lead where the change is.

During our FSE panel CS 1-3: Leading the Audit Function Through Disruptive Technologies: Innovating to Stay Relevant, we will dive deeper into these areas and provide practical tips on how to implement this in your audit function.

Cindy Tu is a presenter at The IIA's 2025 Financial Services Exchange Conference, which takes place Nov. 3 in Washington D.C.