Audit and accounting professionals embrace AI with a focus on human judgment and accountability

Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly important focus for accounting and audit firms. Most organizations recognize its potential to improve efficiency, expand coverage and enhance audit quality. As adoption accelerates across the profession, new global research from IDC, sponsored by Caseware, highlights that while most respondents are actively embracing AI to some degree, clear expectations around trust, governance and professional judgment remain.

The IDC Future of Audit and Accounting in the AI Era Survey, based on a global survey of more than 1,000 audit and accounting professionals, points to a clear shift from exploration toward execution. Two-thirds of firms (66%) report active AI adoption, ranging from AI being embedded into their firm strategy to pilot projects and/or use in select functions or strategic initiatives.  

However, the findings reinforce an important reality: the challenge facing firms today is no longer whether to adopt AI but how to scale it responsibly while preserving the trust, judgment and accountability that define the profession.

AI adoption is advancing, but maturity is developing at different paces

Most accounting and audit organizations have moved beyond theoretical discussions of AI. That said, adoption maturity is developing at different paces across firms. While 66% report some level of active AI adoption, most describe their efforts as targeted rather than enterprise-wide. AI is commonly applied to specific tasks or phases of the engagement lifecycle rather than being fully embedded across end-to-end workflows.

This variation reflects a deliberate and measured approach. Given the regulatory, professional and reputational stakes involved in audit and accounting work, firms are prioritizing control, validation and confidence as they expand AI use.

What’s slowing progress: Practical execution challenges

As firms move from experimentation to execution, respondents point to practical scaling challenges rather than skepticism about AI itself.

The most frequently cited barrier to AI adoption is cost of implementation, identified by 34% of respondents. This is followed closely by a lack of technical talent (30%), underscoring the skills gap many firms face as AI initiatives expand. Regulatory uncertainty ranks third at 17%, reflecting ongoing considerations around compliance, validation and oversight.

Additional challenges include cultural resistance to change (11%) and ethical concerns or trust issues (8%). Together, these findings suggest that the pace of AI adoption is shaped less by doubt in the technology and more by the realities of responsible implementation.

Confidence in outcomes: AI’s role in audit quality

Despite these challenges, confidence in AI’s potential impact on audit quality is strong. More than half of respondents (53%) strongly agree or agree that AI tools can improve audit quality.

Professionals see AI as a way to increase consistency, expand coverage across larger data sets and strengthen risk identification. By supporting data-intensive tasks, AI enables auditors to focus their professional judgment where it matters most.

Importantly, this confidence reflects optimism about outcomes, not blind trust in automation. Respondents consistently emphasize that AI should augment, not replace, human expertise.

Trust, validation and accountability remain essential

Trust emerges as one of the strongest themes in the research. While professionals express confidence in AI, that trust is grounded in clear expectations.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) indicate that auditors should validate AI outputs in every instance when those outputs are used to inform professional conclusions. Explainability, transparency and human oversight are viewed as essential safeguards.

These findings underscore a clear professional stance: AI must operate within rigorous governance frameworks to earn and sustain trust.

From insight to action

AI momentum in accounting and audit is real and accelerating. Looking ahead, the majority of respondents (76%) believe AI will fundamentally transform the profession over the next decade. At the same time, the research sets clear expectations around how that transformation must unfold.

The question is no longer whether AI will shape the future of accounting and audit but how confidently, responsibly and effectively it will be embedded into everyday work.

In the next post, we explore how these findings translate into real-world accounting and audit workflows.

Explore the full IDC study for detailed statistics and deeper perspectives around AI adoption in audit and accounting.

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