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Embracing AI in internal audit: An audit, risk and compliance officer's guide

Jan. 29, 2025 · Authored by Mike Cullen, Himanshu Sharma

Audit, risk and compliance officers understand that artificial intelligence is here to stay. Regardless of your industry, location, organization size or structure, AI is going to be part of your business for the foreseeable future.

The global AI market exceeded $184 billion in 2024, according to Statista, “AI market size worldwide from 2020-2030". In fact, AI is developing so rapidly that if we included AI use cases in this article, those examples would be outdated by the time you read it. We’re clearly in the midst of an AI revolution.

While not all organizations or individuals will be at the forefront of AI development, every professional in the audit, risk and compliance fields must acknowledge its impacts. We must embrace the ways AI can be used to our advantage. We must acknowledge the extent to which our co-workers, vendors and competitors are using it.

Even if your organization is not currently utilizing AI – and roughly 50% of organizations have yet to go down that path (according to AccountancyAge, “Internal auditors 'flying blind' on AI risks”) – you need to be prepared to address AI from a risk and audit perspective in the near future. And if you’re a newcomer to the world of AI, know that you’re not alone: More than 60% of internal audit leaders cite a lack of AI expertise, as reported in AuditBoard’s “2025 Focus on the Future” report.

At the very least, you need to understand how AI generally works, where to find it, how to examine it, and what questions to ask along the way.

With that in mind, the first challenge is: Where do you even start?

How to view AI through an internal audit lens?

When it comes to evaluating the intersection of AI and internal audit, the recommended place to start is to develop an understanding of the areas within an organization that are likely to use AI in some fashion. Generally speaking, organizations are using or experimenting with AI in the following primary areas: