As adoption surges, audit professionals navigate opportunities and concerns in an AI-driven industry
Highlights
- Adoption outpaces data measurement — 74% of auditors use AI weekly, but only 18% of firms track ROI
- Client expectations exceed delivery — 78% of clients want AI-enabled quality; only 6% say providers deliver it
- Talent exodus looming with 24% of professionals considering leaving within two years due to unmet AI value
The latest Thomson Reuters Institute research reveals that auditors’ opinions on AI continue to evolve rapidly. While early conversations focused on whether AI could be trusted in professional work, the discussion has shifted to how firms can embed AI strategically, govern it responsibly, and deliver greater client value.
According to the 2026 AI in Professional Services Report, AI adoption has entered a new phase. Organizational use of AI has nearly doubled year over year, and a growing majority of professionals now view AI as an important part of their future workflows. At the same time, audit professionals remain focused on maintaining the professional judgment, accountability, and data integrity that underpin audit quality.
These findings offer insight into auditors’ opinions on AI and how the profession is preparing for a future where AI becomes increasingly embedded across audit engagements.
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Understanding the auditor’s perspective on AI
The professional judgment question
Shadow AI and the governance gap
What auditors’ opinions on AI mean for audit strategy
The path forward: Integrating auditors’ views of AI into practice
Understanding the auditor’s perspective on AI: The current landscape
Adoption is accelerating, but with caveats
According to the Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals Report 2026, more than 74% of audit professionals now use AI tools multiple times a week, and more than 80% of current users engage with AI weekly. This level of embedding is significant. However, auditors’ opinions on AI also reveal a gap: while adoption is high, only 18% of organizations actually track return on investment. Another 40% don’t know whether ROI is being measured at all.
This gap matters. Audit professionals are actively using AI, but many lack clear visibility into whether the technology is delivering measurable value. For audit firms evaluating AI adoption, this represents both a warning and an opportunity — the tools are ready, but the business discipline to measure impact lags behind.
Shifting client expectations for audit firms
Two-thirds of corporate clients now say they want their external audit firms to use AI, yet fewer than 20% mandate it. This creates confusion in the market: audit firms receive mixed signals, and many clients remain unclear about when and how they expect AI to enhance audit work.
Among corporate clients, the pressure is more direct: 78% say receiving AI-enabled quality improvements from professional service firms is very important or essential. Yet only 6% report that most or all of their providers deliver it. As a result, 32% of corporate respondents have either already reconsidered relationships with firms they feel are falling behind on AI, or plan to within the next 12 months.
For audit firms, the critical question is: How do we demonstrate AI-enabled value when clients expect it but don’t always communicate it clearly?
The professional judgment question: Central to auditors’ opinions on AI
One of the most thoughtful concerns in auditors’ perspective on AI concerns the development of professional judgment. Nearly 48% of professionals worry about AI’s impact on independent judgment development; a legitimate concern in a profession built on critical thinking and skepticism.
Auditors understand something fundamental: while AI can accelerate routine work, it cannot substitute for the seasoned judgment that underpins audit quality. This belief shapes auditors’ opinions on AI implementation. They recognize AI’s power to augment work, but they remain protective of the human elements: professional skepticism, contextual understanding, and accountability, all of which distinguish audit from process automation.
The risk is real; research from the Thomson Reuters Institute indicates that legal professionals expect the timeline to trusted judgment to extend by nearly two years. While tax professionals expect acceleration, the broader question remains: how do audit firms ensure that AI tools sharpen judgment rather than offset it?
Shadow AI and the governance gap
Auditors’ opinions on AI also reveal a practical problem: governance isn’t keeping pace with adoption. Research shows that 34% of professionals use AI tools their organization hasn’t sanctioned, working in ways their employer can’t see or control.
For audit firms, this creates a compliance and risk management challenge. The regulatory environment is still evolving around AI use in audit work. The fact that a third of professionals are using so-called “shadow AI” tools suggests that some audit firms haven’t provided clear enough guidance or the right tools for their professionals to work within established governance.
Among professionals experiencing this gap, the response is telling: nearly 24% who feel their organization isn’t delivering on AI value are considering leaving within two years. At an estimated $232,000 replacement cost per professional lost, this represents a significant hidden liability.
What auditors’ opinions on AI mean for audit strategy
The consensus among audit professionals increasingly centers on three imperatives:
1. Clarity on AI’s role
Auditors’ opinions on AI vary widely depending on how their organizations frame the technology. Among firms and departments with a named AI strategy, 66% say AI is meeting or exceeding expectations. Where there is no active strategy, that figure drops to 22%. For audit firms, the lesson is clear: strategy matters more than tool selection.
2. Building judgment, not replacing it
The most forward-thinking auditors emphasize that AI should compress the learning curve for developing professional judgment, not bypass it. This requires deliberate investment in training that goes beyond tool mechanics, and by teaching audit professionals when to verify AI output, when to override it, and how to explain AI-assisted reasoning to stakeholders and regulators.
3. Managing the talent transition
Auditors’ opinions on AI increasingly reflect concern about career development in an AI-augmented environment. Mid-career audit professionals, the most operationally critical group, are the most impatient with slow adoption and the most mobile. Firms that fail to deliver clear AI value risk losing experienced professionals to competitors or firms pursuing more aggressive AI strategies.
The path forward: Integrating auditors’ views of AI into practice
As auditors’ opinions on AI continue to evolve, several themes emerge as essential:
The transition from exploration to execution requires more than deploying tools. It requires reimagining audit workflows, how professionals develop expertise, and how firms demonstrate value to clients. When auditors’ opinions on AI translate into action, they center on building AI-augmented workflows that enhance rather than replace professional judgment.
Audit firms that succeed will be those that listen carefully to auditors’ opinions on AI, not just the executives championing adoption, but the professionals doing the day-to-day work. They will clarify what AI is for within their practice, invest in building judgment rather than just tool proficiency, and create governance structures that allow professionals to work confidently within approved frameworks.
What auditors should do next
The latest research suggests that auditors should take a proactive approach to AI adoption by:
- Building AI literacy across audit teams
- Establishing governance and risk management frameworks
- Identifying workflows where AI can improve efficiency and quality
- Ensuring AI outputs are reviewed using professional judgment
- Aligning AI initiatives with client expectations and business objectives
Client expectations are also changing. The Future of Professionals Report 2026 found that 78% of corporate clients consider AI-enabled quality improvements important or essential, while only 6% believe most of their service providers currently deliver that value.
For audit firms, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Firms that effectively integrate AI while maintaining trust, transparency, and audit quality will be better positioned to meet evolving client goals.
Auditors’ opinions on AI have matured significantly over the past few years. The conversation is no longer centered on whether AI will impact the profession, but on how firms can use it strategically, responsibly, and effectively. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in audit workflows, firms that combine technological innovation with human expertise will be best positioned to deliver higher-quality outcomes, strengthen client relationships, and shape the future of audit.
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