Аудит информационных систем: современные тенденции и этические аспекты применения ИИ

Examination of an information system
An information technology audit, or information systems audit, is an examination of the management controls within an Information technology (IT) infrastructure and business applications. The evaluation of evidence obtained determines if the information systems are safeguarding assets, maintaining data integrity, and operating effectively to achieve the organization's goals or objectives. These reviews may be performed in conjunction with a financial statement audit, internal audit, or other form of attestation engagement. IT audits are also known as automated data processing audits (ADP audits) and computer audits. They were formerly called electronic data processing audits (EDP audits).

There are also new audits being imposed by various standard boards which are required to be performed, depending upon the audited organization, which will affect IT and ensure that IT departments are performing certain functions and controls appropriately to be considered compliant. Examples of such audits are SSAE 16, ISAE 3402, and ISO27001:2013.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in IT audits is growing rapidly, with 30% of all corporate audits to be conducted using AI by 2025 as reported by the World Economic forum from 2015. AI in IT audits raises many ethical issues. The use of Artificial Intelligence causes unintended biases in results An issue that AI faces in completing IT audits for corporations is that unintended biases can occur as the AI filters through data. AI does not have a human element or the ability to understand different situations in which certain data is expected or not expected. AI only understands the data in which it has seen before and therefore is unable to evolve given each unique situation. This causes unintended biases and therefore unintended consequences if the AI systems are given too much trust and not carefully monitored by the human eye. As a result ethical, legal and economic issues arise. The use of IT systems in audits has transformed the way auditors accomplish important audit functions such as the management of databases, risk assurance and controls, and even governance and compliance. In addition, IT audit systems improve the operational efficiency and aid in decision making that would otherwise be left to hand held calculations. IT systems help to eliminate the human error in audits and while it does not fully solve the issue, IT systems have proven to be helpful in audits done by the Big 4 and small firms alike. These systems have greatly reduced the margin of error on audits and provide a better insight into the data being analyzed. As a result of the increased use of IT systems in audits, authoritative bodies such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Information Systems Audit Control Association (ISACA) have established guidance on how to properly use IT systems to perform audits. Auditors must now adhere to the established guidelines when utilizing IT systems in audits.

The use of IT systems and AI techniques on financial audits is starting to show huge benefits for leading accounting firms. In a study done by one of the Big 4 accounting firms, it is expected that the use of IT Systems and AI techniques will generate an increase of $6.6 trillion dollars in revenue as a result of the increase in productivity. As a result, leading auditing firms are making enormous investments with the goal of increasing productivity and therefore revenue through the development or outsourcing of IT systems and AI techniques to assist in financial audits. PwC, one of the biggest auditing firms in the world, has narrowed down three different types of IT systems and AI techniques that firms can develop and implement to achieve increased revenue and productivity. The first system is by created in a way that technology systems that play a supplemental role in the human auditors decision making. This allows the human auditor to retain autonomy over decisions and use the technology to support and enhance their ability to perform accurate work, ultimately saving the firm in productivity costs. Next, PwC states that systems with problem solving abilities are imperative to producing the most accurate results. PwC recognizes the increased margin for error due to unintended biases, and thus the need for creating systems that are able to adapt to different scenarios. This type of system requires decision making to be shared between the human auditor and the IT system to produce the maximum output by allowing the system to take over the computing work that could not be one by a human auditor alone. Finally, PwC recognizes that there are scenarios where technology needs to have the autonomy of decision making and act independently. This allows human auditors to focus on more important tasks while the technology takes care of time consuming tasks that do not require human time. The utilization of IT systems and AI techniques on financial audits extend past the goal of reaching maximized productivity and increased revenue. Firms who utilize these systems to assist in the completion of audits are able to identify pieces of data that may constitute fraud with higher efficiency and accuracy. For example, systems such as drones have been approved by all four of the big 4 to assist in obtaining more accurate inventory calculations, meanwhile voice and facial recognition is adding firms in fraud cases.