Technology Enabled Audit

PwC estimates that 45% of workforce tasks can be automated. This could save an estimated USD 2 trillion in global workforce costs. Organisations can use RPA to automate manual tasks such as copying and pasting data between applications or reconciling and cross-referencing data.

In addition to developing RPA and implementing it in our internal processes, we have already built robotics for a lot of our clients. This combination of an internal and external view and the experience we have gained so far helps us analyse your processes and evaluate where and how you could best implement RPA in your financial systems based on our use cases.

RPA helps us, auditors, increase productivity, expand risk coverage and address the ongoing compliance burden by doing more with less.

Although it is in its infancy, the AI-enhanced audit is already being used to make the audit processes better. We are using AI to spot patterns and anomalies in large bodies of structured data. Any problems identified are recognised and remembered by the machine, which then learns from its experiences and applies the learning to the next set of data.

The use of drones in the audit industry will also contribute to bringing benefits to our work. We are exploring the use of drones in stock counts of capital assets to save our auditors from having to physically travel to locations. We are currently focusing in investigating the applicability of drones to various industries, one of which is mining. Open-cast mines can cover several square kilometres, and auditors may need to assess the physical state of the mines. In a similar fashion to how they check stock counts, drones can be used to quickly map the area, make reports, monitor work progress without having to travel into the mine. Drones are therefore a great contribution to time saving measures and avoiding safety hazards making them a new crucial platform for data collection.

The importance of the Internet of Things is growing rapidly and has already become a common technology in certain industries. It is one of the greatest technological disruptors of our time and creates opportunities to develop new products, services, business models. and even contributes to establishing entire ecosystems. IoT refers to a network of physical devices connected by sensors and software via the internet which allows data to be exchanged. Its various applications span almost every sector: networked manufacturing and energy supply; networked buildings and cities; networked agriculture and healthcare.

Traditional analytics is widespread, and many organisations are taking advantage of their structured data to unlock insights and drive decisions. But the majority (around 80%) of the data generated by humans is unstructured and is not used to its full potential. Natural language processing (NLP) enables machines to tap into the wealth of information present in unstructured data.

NLP software can facilitate tasks that normally require a significant time investment to read and understand text. We use this technology in the audit to capture data, extract concepts and identify relationships from unstructured text documents (such as bank confirmations, contracts, etc.).

Blockchain technology can help CFOs streamline processes, enhance transparency and create new ways of working with partners and customers. When combined with AI, the internet of things (IoT) and intelligent automation, blockchain plays a central role in moving the finance function towards the future they envision − one in which routine tasks are completed without a second thought, giving the finance workforce time to focus on strategy and operations.

Blockchain will also give us the means to replace random sampling effectuated by auditors, by checking every single transaction using a code. This feature will improve the review of fraud suspicions, since real-time systems can highlight and investigate anomalies.

PwC has globally launched the cryptocurrency audit tool, which was developed in Switzerland.

Halo is PwC’s leading-edge technology for data extraction, auditing and visualisation. It is transforming the way we audit and unlocking a wealth of information, providing deeper real-time insight from data and allowing us more visibility into your business.

Large volumes of transactions are interrogated and analysed; we developed a competitive advantage through combining complex algorithms with the use of visualisation allowing us to assess risk and focus on items of significance to the audit more efficiently and effectively. Halo gives greater insights improving the quality and the client’s experience and offers tailored solutions to serve our clients across all industries.