The future of audit: Taking advantage of the latest technology

Molly Ryan Kowaleski, PR & Engagement Manager

What a time to be alive – with artificial intelligence, data analytics, blockchain, cloud technology and more coming into play, there are plenty of opportunities for auditors to make their processes more efficient and save time and money.

“We’re going to get to a time where audit is valued higher again,” said Amy Vetter, CPA, CGMA, CITP. “Right now, it’s become commoditized just because it’s ended up being a price war versus a value proposition, but there’s really an opportunity now to disrupt.”

Vetter, an accomplished C-suite executive, entrepreneur, technologist, speaker and author, joined us on the latest episode of our podcast, The State of Business with The Ohio Society of CPAs.

“With cloud technology, we can actually develop better relationships with our teammates because we won’t have to be on the road all the time or outside of the office,” she said. “AI and machine learning help to automatically extract information that reduces non-value added time on the engagement and instead allows accountants to have more time to analyze the information to find anomalies and opportunities for their clients.”

She also said job descriptions will change in the future and that the path to partner will no longer be a linear one as it has been in the past.

“I think there’s going to be team-oriented work and there might be lateral movement where people can learn about different industries and verticals and the technology in those verticals,” she said.

Auditors and accounting professionals also will have opportunities to specialize in key discipline areas such as data analytics, cybersecurity, blockchain technology and more.

“There’s so much out there to learn … there are all sorts of different areas that you can go into, but trying to be a generalist or a master at all of them would be really hard, so find where your passion lies,” she said. “That’s one of the most exciting things about this time; it’s not just go into tax or audit and be a generalist, and those are your two options. There are so many options now to specialize in areas that excite you.”

You can hear more from Vetter on the podcast. She also will speak on the future of audit trends in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus at our fall accounting shows; and is the presenter of AICPA’s blockchain webcast series.