Cognitive Audits.

• Author: Pugliese, Anthony

In my Opinion the audit of the future will look and feel very different from what we see today--it will be heavily automated through the use of technologies like robotic process automation (RPA) and Blockehain, and it will be more "cognitive" in nature through the use of machine learning technologies.

Perhaps you're already thinking ahead about what happens to the people involved in the audit--you, the accountants who provide audit services to your clients. After all, we're only human, and can't help but think about the impact of new and disruptive technologies on our own jobs and roles. I don't believe the accountants arc eliminated from the audit role; rather, I believe their roles and responsibilities evolve. But let me come back to that in a moment.

Computers of all sizes and capabilities--think smartphones and voice assistants, for example permeate every aspect of our personal and professional lives. They don't just help us through life and work challenges; they solve our problems, manage our schedules, tell us what to do and hopefully make our lives simpler ... OK, maybe sometimes (hey seemingly add complexity. But 1 truly cannot imagine life today without my laptop, smartwatch, smartphone, connected car, smart thermostat and lights, wireless headphones, virtual assistant and so much more. Computers are everywhere. They can do virtually anything humans can do. And they're getting smarter because they can learn. In other words, computers and technology are becoming increasingly cognitive.

Which brings to mind something Albert Einstein is credited with saying: "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." I wonder what he would think about the pervasiveness of technology today. It's ubiquitous. It's efficient and smarter than many of us. It can look like us, talk like us and think almost like us. And it has the capacity to assume roles that we humans typically held. Accountants and auditors also arc being sucked into these technological disruptions. In fact, they're prime targets for squeezing greater accuracy, efficiency and profitability out of services such as auditing that have been somewhat commoditized over the last decade.

New technologies are breathing fresh opportunities into what were formerly traditional audit services. In a recent article conduct important strategic work around risk areas related to the audit and auditors can challenge their own thought process and professional judgment...