Digital audit talent’s impact on audit digitization and detection risk

In the global wave of digital transformation, the extent to which digital audit talent mitigates detection risk remains understudied. This study investigates whether and how the adequacy of digital audit talent reduces the level of detection risk through the degree of audit digitization. The empirical analysis draws on data from the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants ( $$CICPA$$ ) (2020–2022). The results reveal that: (1) Adequacy of digital audit talent significantly reduces detection risk; (2) Digital audit talent enhances audit digitization, whereas digitization itself increases detection risk; (3) The relationship between the adequacy of digital audit talent and the level of detection risk exhibits significant heterogeneity across audit institutions of different sizes. This study expands the Resource-Based View by validating the transmission paths of talent, technology, and risk, and proposes a tiered policy framework to address digitization risks. Limitations include regional data scope, urging future research on cross-country comparisons and generative AI's impact.