Robot audits: Over to incorruptible bots?
Today, as the fourth industrial revolution takes hold, audit firms are already using ‘robotic process automation’ to automate human activities for repetitive, rules-based tasks
Back in 2013, the Oxford Martin School, a research and policy unit at the university, estimated that auditing and accounting jobs had a 94%-98% chance of being entirely computerised.Today, as the fourth industrial revolution takes hold, audit firms are already using "robotic process automation" to automate human activities for repetitive, rules-based tasks.The obvious appeal of machines is that they can audit all of a company’s transactions, and not only a sample, which is the case with human auditors. Also, accuracy is a benefit.They can also perform continuous auditing, verifying data in real time and flagging suspicious transactions as they happen.Let’s hope that when the robots come, they come for the errant auditors first.
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