Audit Accounting and Emerging Technology: Challenges and Opportunities

This report delves into the influence of emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), on the field of audit accounting. It begins with an introduction outlining the significance of these technologies in the evolving financial reporting landscape, using Woolworths as a case study. The main body of the report evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, and potential improvements of a journal article related to AI implementation in retail. It then examines how AI can be applied within financial report audits, highlighting benefits such as improved data management and error detection. The report also addresses the challenges auditors face, including limited knowledge and data security concerns, while also identifying opportunities for the audit profession to enhance the use of AI. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing the transformative potential of emerging technologies in financial audit practices. The report references various sources, including academic journals and online articles, to support its analysis.

Audit Accounting
Emerging Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY .................................................................................................................................1
1. Evaluation of the journal article’s main contributions, including its strengths, weaknesses
and recommendation/s for improvement....................................................................................1
2. Outline how the emerging technology in selected journal article can be used in the
Financial Report Audit................................................................................................................1
3. What challenges do auditors face in adopting emerging technology on audit engagements?
What opportunities are there for the audit profession and audit education to enhance the use
and success of the emerging technology in auditing?.................................................................2
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Emerging technologies are using by organisations for altering the financial reporting
environment considerably and this alteration is intensifying. Currently in this evolving
environment, it is essential for main leader in financial reporting, auditors, audit committees as
well as administration. This report based on the Woolworth limited, a major Australian company.
It is a biggest organisation by revenue and biggest takeaway liquor retailers (Stein, 2019). For
this report select a article of “Woolworths plans AI driven stores as cloud transformation bears
fruit”. In this report covers main contribution of journal article and provide suggestions, analysis
selected technology AI and identify all the challenges that face by auditors in adopting emerging
technology.
MAIN BODY
1. Evaluation of the journal article’s main contributions, including its strengths, weaknesses and
recommendation/s for improvement.
Woolworths will use the cloud application to store data of different applications and for
this planning to apply AI software to present how many product available in different stores.
With the help of this technology Woolworths plan to move internal information into the cloud.
For this apply the Artificial intelligence software to track the payment and sort out the errors on
time. The main strength of this software that provide all the information to management at any
places but for this requires to Id and password. There is available different advantages of tech
work involved in digital transformation by cheaper running cost and improved systems. The
weakness of this technology that any person can use information for personal use. It is
recommended that company do not share password to with all employees. After the application
AI algorithms to different sites to support store managers decide on ranges to introduce, promote
or discard (Barta, 2018).
2. Outline how the emerging technology in selected journal article can be used in the Financial
Report Audit
The AI technology use by the company to manage all the data and information to conduct
financial audit in proper manner. The company face the problem of payment error changes that
impact on the customers number of company so for this requires to apply Artificial intelligence
to track the record of transactions and sent message of confirmation (Kelly, 2020). There is
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different types of data which is used by the auditors at the time of audit like historical data,
customer data and selling data (Woolworth plan AI driven store. 2020).
In the context of Woolworths, by emerging technology company collect all useful data
from cloud server for auditing. On the basis of data auditor manage all activities and start their
procedure. Company face the problem of spammers so for this appoint a system expert who
receiving customer complains and sort out on time. The auditor focus on these activities that
occur in the business in particular financial year. By AI software sort out the problem of
payment error and aware for every transactions (Sheldon, 2018).
The auditor use AI software to compute big data analysis and collect data at one server.
Woolworth use Artificial intelligence in their advisory and auditing for quicker data analysis,
enhance levels of accuracy and collect information in depth for continue business procedure
smoothly. The aim of the technology to imitator the cognitive skills and judge people to achieve
competitive advantages effectively (The New Daily, 2020).
3. What challenges do auditors face in adopting emerging technology on audit engagements?
What opportunities are there for the audit profession and audit education to enhance the
use and success of the emerging technology in auditing?
A auditor face many challenges after implementation AI because it enables to determine
of a full population of data that can recognise outliers or exceptions. At the befitting auditor need
to understand how to this software work and proper utilise in auditing work. Along with there are
facing some other problem by auditors such as:
 Limited knowledge
 Human level
 Data privacy and security
 Trust deficit
 Computing power
There are many opportunities gain by the auditor after adopting emerging technology
(AI), AI helps to auditors to work effectively and smarter, it optimize their time enabling them to
use their human judgement to determine a broader and deeper set of data and documents
(Cooper, 2017). It provides the opportunities to create the potential to do more with resources.
Along with it automating administrative tasks and utilize more time and energy for creating,
determining and interpreting data to bring out value of business in proper manner.
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CONCLUSION
As per the above discussion it has been concluded that in present time most of the
companies apply emerging technology to manage financial audit. The company apply the AI
technology to prepare financial report and manage audit effectively. At the stating of audit the
auditor face many problems like trust issue but it also provides many opportunities to do work
smoothly.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Stein, S. E., 2019. Auditor industry specialization and accounting estimates: Evidence from asset
impairments. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. 38(2). pp.207-234.
Barta, G., 2018. The increasing role of IT auditors in financial audit: risks and intelligent
answers. Business, Management and Education. 16(1). pp.81-93.
Sheldon, M. D., 2018. Using blockchain to aggregate and share misconduct issues across the
accounting profession. Current Issues in Auditing. 12(2). pp.A27-A35.
Online
Woolworth plan AI driven store. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.afr.com/technology/woolworths-plans-ai-driven-stores-as-cloud-
transformation-bears-fruit-20201030-p56a92>
The New Daily, 2020, Woolworths wage theft blows out, flags redundancies, 2020. [Online].
Available through: <https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/markets-and-
shares/2020/06/23/woolworths-staff-wages/>
Kelly, V. 2020. [Online]. Available through: <‘Woolworths fined over $1 million for spamming
consumers’, Mumbrella
Cooper, L 2017, Woolworths Payment Error Charges Shoppers Duplicate Transactions, 2020.
[Online]. Available through:
<https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/08/07/woolworths-payment-error-charges-
shoppers-duplicate-transactions_a_23068187/>
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