Enhancing Audit Team Performance with Artificial Intelligence

Ashish Varma

doi:10.1080/08874417.2026.2668053

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Enhancing Audit Team Performance with Artificial Intelligence

2026-05-05

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Ashish Varma

Anuj Sharma *

DOI：10.1080/08874417.2026.2668053

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Abstract

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Artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies, such as machine learning, data visualization, and workflow automation, have transformed audit tasks, procedures, and, to an extent, the entire audit profession by providing predictive and intelligent audit capabilities to support auditors. However, to benefit from AI, auditors require cognitive flexibility, which captures the extent to which the collaborating actors (here, audit team members) listen attentively without distraction and are open to multiple perspectives and possibilities, engage in the free flow of ideas and opinions based on their conversations with peers and clients, and evaluate different decision alternatives. This study aimed to ascertain how AI impacts audit team performance and what role cognitive flexibility plays in this process. Data were collected from 191 respondents from India, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the conceptual model, including testing for mediation effects, testing for heterogeneity utilizing the finite mixture partial least squares (FIMIX) procedure and entropy values, testing for endogeneity using the Gaussian copula term, importance—performance map analysis (IPMA), and PLSpredict modeling. The results showed that cognitive flexibility is significant in AI-enabled audit engagements. This study concludes that AI generates transactional value and that auditors require proficiency in AI to perform audits effectively using such technologies.

Keywords:

Audit team performance

Artificial intelligence (AI)

cognitive flexibility

Team innovativeness

Team dependability