The benefits of AI for audit are becoming increasingly clear as audit, risk, and compliance leaders grapple with mounting challenges. Expanding threats, evolving regulations, and growing responsibilities are pushing already overburdened teams to their limits with traditional tools like spreadsheets no longer able to handle the sheer volume and complexity of data sources. In this high-pressure environment, the ability to transform complex data into smart, actionable decisions at the speed of change is more critical than ever.
How can executives overseeing audit, risk and compliance functions keep up?
Artificial intelligence (AI) to the rescue: sifting through and making sense of data with super-human speed, processing, analytic power and efficiency.
Through time-saving automation, lightning-fast analysis, and real-time intelligence, AI empowers executives and their teams to make more informed decisions, build stronger resilience in their operations, and better manage the risks that matter.
Here are four ways AI can help you enhance performance across audit, risk and compliance:
1. Add efficiency and accuracy to audit operations
Getting more audits done with less time and effort — that’s the dream. AI not only streamlines routine tasks and automates data gathering and analysis, but it also extends its capabilities to more complex challenges. By handling the initial stages of repetitive work, such as monitoring regulatory changes and assisting in intricate tasks like script creation for advanced analytics, AI bridges the expertise gap within teams. This integration of technology enhances accuracy and speeds up processes, thereby reducing the risks of human error and missed deadlines.
2. More effectively anticipate, analyse and manage risk
The internal and external risks organisations face today are high-stakes and growing: customer privacy, cybersecurity, business ethics, and environmental violations. Which deserve priority status? Which demands immediate action?
AI-powered automation streamlines the analytics lifecycle — from data acquisition and cleansing to analysis and reporting — and tailors it to specific needs by acting as a coding assistant for auditors. Many auditors lack the specialised coding skills required for complex analytics tasks. With AI, they can simply input a prompt for the desired analysis, and the system generates the necessary code. This capability allows auditors to quickly detect and respond to emerging risks, such as cyber threats before they escalate into significant problems. This targeted approach in analytics ensures precision and efficiency in handling data-intensive processes.
At the same time, AI-powered analysis sharpens your visibility, enhancing the clarity and certainty you need for informed decisions and better outcomes.
3. Keep up with an evolving compliance landscape
CSRD, SASB, TCFD, and the list goes on. By sorting and sifting through data at super-human speed, AI-powered automation quickly identifies what’s new. But that’s just the beginning of its powers.
Given the proliferation of rules, regulations and reporting frameworks in recent years, standardisation across them is a good thing, right? This is not the case when the overlap across all of these requirements grows, increasing the odds of duplication, redundancy, bottlenecks, and errors.
AI-powered automation detangles the details, empowering compliance teams to track, categorise and decipher these changes more efficiently. This means policies and practices are aligned in a timely manner, and important deadlines and disclosure don’t fall through the cracks.
4. Increase effectiveness across audit, risk and compliance functions
Finally, AI enhances activities that span audit, risk and compliance.
Internal controls are one example. AI-powered automation saves time—eliminating the need for manual controls testing—and increases peace of mind, enabling the move from sampling to continuous process monitoring. When the regulatory and risk landscape inevitably changes, AI can recommend changes to ensure internal controls are alerting teams to the right things.
Data integration is another. AI tools can help break down silos and bring data together across audit, risk and compliance for the single umbrella of clarity and shared responsibility strong governance depends on.
Diligent AI: Built for ARC performance and responsible use
Diligent AI improves the speed, accuracy and effectiveness of ARC operations with:
- Pre-trained models that delve into risk across 26 categories, from GHG to supply chain management and beyond
- Automated workflows that accelerate and consolidate manual tasks while minimising human error
- Tailor-made summaries that swiftly surface key takeaways for more timely decision-making
- Machine learning that applies prescriptive and predictive analysis across data sources for sharper insights
- Customisable, ready-to-use dashboards that deliver real-time visibility into key ARC metrics
This includes customising features and scaling into the future with minimal stress on IT teams and business users. Diligent AI empowers you to create scripts without coding and offers an AI script assistant that quickly and easily troubleshoots errors when you do code.
Throughout, your data remains your own — it’s never shared or mixed with others. Models are trained only for your use. The content is clearly labelled, so you can quickly see what’s AI-generated and what’s not.
Check out the platform that brings it all together: data, analysis and a consolidated view across your organisation. Explore Diligent One today.
