Faktorer som främjar respektive hindrar revisorers användning av GenAI i granskningsfasen : En kvalitativ studie av non-Big Four revisionsföretag

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Abstract Factors that promote and hinder auditor’s use of GenAI in the review phase: A qualitative study of non-Big Four audit firms Due to the ongoing development of artificial intelligence (AI), the auditing industry is expected to undergo significant changes, where work processes become more efficient and parts of the manual work are increasingly automated. This development is mainly driven by generative AI (GenAI), which has great potential in the audit work. Togehter with increasing amounts of data within the auditing industry, these technologies are considered capable of streamlining several parts of the audit process, especieally the review phase, where handling large amounts of data is common. This has created a greater need for advanced technological solutions to improve efficiency. Previous research on the use of GenAI in the auditing industry shows that the four largest audit firms (Big Four) are at the forefront of using GenAI, largely due to their extensive investments in the technology. However, research regarding the use of GenAI within non-Big Four audit firms is still limited. Through a combination of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory, this study aims to examine the factors that promote and hinder auditor’s use of GenAI in the rewiev phase within non-Big Four audit firms. Based on nine semi structured interwievs with auditors, the study shows that the use of GenAI is influenced by both promoting and hindering factors. The promoting factors identified are effiency, visible results, triability, compatibility and social influence, where effiency appears to be the main driving factor behind the use of GenAI in the review phase. The hindering factors identifies are data confidentiality, reliability, resources and knowledge, where data confidentiality and reliability appear to be the clearest obstancles to the use of technology. Furthermore, the study shows that the current use of GenAI is limited and mainly fosuces on the administratice tasks that indirectly support the review phase rather than the review itself. Despite the limited use, the technology is used to some extent in analytic review, reviewing annnual reports, and identifying transactions and deviations. Overall, data confidentiality and reliability emerge as the study´s most central findings, as these factors are considered to have significant impact on auditors actual use of GenAI in the review phase. This due to concerns regarding the handling of sensitive costumer data and the material generated by the technology. Keywords: Artificiall Intelligens (AI), Generative AI (GenAI), Review phase, non-Big Four, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Diffusion of innovation Theory (DOI)