This article aims to analyse the impacts of new technologies, namely robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI), on auditing firms. In particular, we focus on the companies’ everyday activities, organisational structure, hiring practices, and the competitive gap between Big4 and non-Big4 auditing firms. To this end, the article is based on a field study involving 14 auditing companies, both Big4 and non-Big4, from the list provided by Consob. The results reveal auditors’ differing perceptions and opinions regarding the future of auditing firms. According to the first viewpoint, new technologies will have a positive impact on auditors as they will be allowed to focus on value-added activities. Second, some respondents do not expect changes to the traditional structure of the companies due to the application of digital tools, while other auditors hypothesised two different scenarios regarding structural changes. Third, the interviewees contend that auditors of the future should gain IT and data analytics skills, which could affect the hiring practices of these companies. Fourth, regarding the current differences between large and smaller firms, some participants stated that emerging technologies could widen that gap, while some auditors of non-Big4 firms claimed that modern tools offer an opportunity for the smaller companies to slightly reduce the gap. In sum, the findings reveal that, although RPA and AI are not widely used and the impact of these technologies on auditing firms is controversial, multiple changes are on the horizon in this regard.

中文翻译：

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新兴数字技术和审计公司：机遇与挑战


本文旨在分析机器人流程自动化（RPA）和人工智能（AI）等新技术对审计公司的影响。我们特别关注公司的日常活动、组织结构、招聘实践以及四大会计师事务所和非四大会计师事务所之间的竞争差距。为此，本文基于对 Consob 提供的名单中 14 家审计公司（包括 Big4 和非 Big4）的实地研究。结果揭示了审计师对审计公司未来的不同看法和意见。根据第一种观点，新技术将对审计师产生积极影响，因为他们将能够专注于增值活动。其次，一些受访者预计数字工具的应用不会改变公司的传统结构，而其他审计师则假设了关于结构变化的两种不同情景。第三，受访者认为未来的审计师应该获得 IT 和数据分析技能，这可能会影响这些公司的招聘实践。第四，关于目前大公司和小公司之间的差异，一些与会者表示，新兴技术可能会扩大这种差距，而一些非四大公司的审计师则声称，现代工具为小公司提供了略微缩小差距的机会。总而言之，研究结果表明，尽管 RPA 和人工智能尚未广泛使用，并且这些技术对审计公司的影响存在争议，但这方面的多重变化即将出现。