The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Transforming Accounting and Auditing Practices: A Systematic Review

This paper presents a systematic review of literature on the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in accounting and auditing. Drawing on peer-reviewed articles and scholarly papers, it maps the current landscape of AI integration, highlighting applications, benefits, and challenges. The review also explores ethical, organizational, and regulatory factors shaping adoption, emphasizing research gaps, and guiding future practice. Findings indicate that AI enhances operational efficiency, improves financial reporting credibility, automates routine tasks, and strengthens fraud detection through tools such as machine learning and predictive analytics. AI is also shifting auditors’ roles from retrospective inspections to real-time monitoring and decision-making. However, adoption faces challenges, including high costs, ethical concerns such as job displacement and data privacy, unequal readiness across regions, and limited empirical studies on AI in accounting and auditing. The review underscores the need for updated regulatory guidelines, inter-disciplinary collaboration, and reforms in accounting education to equip professionals for AI-driven environments. It also stresses the importance of psychological and organizational determinants, such as perceived usefulness, ease of use, and trust in shaping adoption. Overall, the paper concludes that while AI holds significant potential to transform accounting and auditing, effective adoption requires addressing structural, ethical, and educational challenges. These insights offer valuable guidance for practitioners, academics, and policymakers to better harness AI in the financial sector.