AI-Enhanced Audit Inquiry: A Research Note

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are transforming organizations and will soon transform auditing. Many promising areas of AI and ML are within the continuous auditing context. However, the field has yet to recognize how AI and ML can be used for audit inquiry, an essential feature of both traditional audits and continuous auditing. In this research note, we discuss the potential viability of AI-enhanced audit inquiry using “bots” that automatically generate audit inquiries as well as evaluate client responses. In addition, we discuss opportunities for future research in this specific area of automated auditing.