Acting US Audit Leader Sets Sights on AI, Private Equity Risks

Rapid expansion of artificial intelligence tools and private equity ownership pose new risks to auditor reviews of corporate accounting that the US audit regulator must address, its acting leader said.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board should also answer a fundamental question that has long eluded the audit industry: what is audit quality, acting board Chair George Botic told academics at an event Thursday in Washington.

Any definition of audit quality should reflect various factors, such as the execution of the audit and whether auditors remain objective—creating a “multi-dimensional picture,” according to a transcript of Botic’s remarks.

“The ...