Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are ushering in a new era of possibility for the audit function globally. By touching all transactions in a data set, audit firms around the world are using this cutting-edge technology to drive tremendous efficiency and effectiveness gains.
Gilbert Associates Inc. recently adopted MindBridge Ai Auditor™, which utilizes a hybrid of tests including machine learning based algorithms, rules-based tests, and statistical models, against each transaction in the complete financial dataset. Through the analysis of all the records, the results are presented to the user in an intuitive, visual interface which augments the capabilities of audit and investigative professionals by allowing them to focus their analysis on the most relevant activities. Our VP of Growth, John Colthart had a conversation with David Ljung, CPA, President and CEO, Gilbert Associates Inc. and Kevin Wong, CPA, Director of Audit Practice about how integrating AI technology into their audit practice is creating value for their clients.
Here’s what they had to say!
John Colthart: Tell us about Gilbert Associates Inc.
David: Our clients are a mix of closely-held companies, nonprofit organizations, and governmental agencies. Our emphasis is on delivering high-touch customer service and adding significant value to their organization.
John Colthart: What do you see as your biggest opportunity?
David: Our biggest opportunity lies in our ability to capitalize on technology to improve the efficiency of our work and produce greater insight into our clients’ organizations to increase both their effectiveness and profitability.
John Colthart: What do you see as the biggest threat or challenge?
David: Being unaware of or ineffectively utilizing current technology to improve our service to clients.
John Colthart: How do you plan to address it?
David: We plan to approach technological advances openly, and challenge ourselves to push the envelope to identify those which can effectively improve and expand services to clients while maintaining an appropriate balance with our costs of delivering those services.
John Colthart: What made you choose MindBridge Ai Auditor™? What are the features that you plan to use?
Kevin: MindBridge Ai Auditor™ gives us a scalable opportunity to tap into Artificial Intelligence(AI) technology without the up-front software and data science development costs. As the first product of this kind in the market, we hope to leverage Ai Auditor™ to make our audits more efficient, reduce audit risk, and as a differentiator in the industries we practice in. Beyond the risk analysis of 100% of general ledger transactions, we are in the exploratory stages of determining how we can most effectively incorporate this technology into our processes, provide deeper value-added insight into our clients’ operations, and open new service lines.
